Mild-mannered 'dangerous' dog spared death sentence
A DOG owner has been ordered by a court to muzzle and keep his pet on a lead in public.
But city magistrates did not order that the banned pit bull type animal be put down – because they heard it had not been aggressive towards people or other dogs.
Owner Nathan Matthews said he just wanted Lady back from police "because it was part of the family".
Devon and Cornwall Police applied to the court for a contingent destruction order, which means that the dog is put down unless its owner complies with a list of conditions.
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Mr Matthews, of Byron Avenue, in Honicknowle, did not oppose the order.
Magistrates agreed that the dog should not be destroyed.
Presiding magistrate Mike Uglow said: "All parties have agreed that the dog is a pit bull type, but we do not believe that the dog constitutes a danger to the public."
The court had the power to have the dog put down under the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991.
Matthews, who has had the 18-month-old pet since she was a puppy, must have the dog spayed, microchipped, tattooed with an identification number and insured before it is returned by police.
The animal must be muzzled and kept on a lead in public and should be in the care of a person over 16.
Tara Smith, making the application for the police, said Lady had been seized on a warrant just before Christmas. She added it had been examined and found to be a pit bull type.
Sergeant Anthony Whitting, a dog expert with the police, said the dog had been nervous but had shown no aggression after she was seized.
Mr Matthews said the pet had lived with small children and other dogs and had never been aggressive towards any of them. He added: "I just want to get my dog back as she is part of the family."
Mr Matthews said the dog would be kept in a home with a 40ft-long garden surrounded by 6ft walls. He added he lived with his stepfather and mother who "loved the dog to bits" and they would look after Lady if he had to go to hospital.
Mr Uglow said: "No evidence of aggressive behaviour had been brought to the attention of the police or the courts."
If Mr Matthews fails to comply with the terms of the order, the dog shall be destroyed.
13 Comments
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by iamajc
Friday, February 08 2013, 4:49PM
“http://tinyurl.com/avnlspy
Police dog (german shepherd) Escapes from handlers home and bites four people including a 13 year old girl who is hospitalized. Should these people be keeping trained attack dogs at their homes if they cannot exercise competent control over them???
No doubt there will be no calls for this dog to be euthanised or any action taken against it's irresponsible owner...”
by Grunger
Saturday, February 02 2013, 9:00AM
“Anyone who knows Nathan Mathews would agree that it should be him being put to sleep and not the poor dog!!!!!!!!!!!!”
by iamajc
Thursday, January 31 2013, 12:07AM
“ChrisOPrayse
If you knew anything about dog breeding and dog fighting you would know that any dog can be 'trained' to fight but they cannot be 'bred' to fight. They can breed a big powerful dog but you have to condition individual dogs to fight. People who fight dogs do not want dogs that are dangerous to people as they had to go into the pit to get their dog back at the end of a fight and didn't want to be attacked. The were taught to be nasty to other dogs not people. The police train german shepherd dogs to be attack dogs and can set them onto people at will, not all german shepherd dogs are going to attack people though, only the ones that have been trained to, and the ones that are not trained correctly be irresponsible owners.
Pit Bull Terriers were not bred to fight Bulls, They are a cross breed of Bull Terriers which wasin the 1800's (google some pictures to see how much they have changed since those days). You obviously believe everything you read in the papers and think because a very small percentage of dogs have caused trouble that they all do. All dogs have the capacity to cause injury whatever the breed, if they are not owned by responsible owners.”
by CharlieDodd
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 9:59PM
“Devil dogs are like unexploded bombs, liable to go off at any moment”
by curlypeeps
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 9:13PM
“Perhaps all dogs should be muzzled in public.”
by m_dalston
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 8:06PM
“All these posters harping on about how it is the owners fault and how sweet their own little pit bull is really annoy me. In a way it is the dogs fault - if only for being bred over generations into killing machines. No amount of training will correct that. All we have to do is wait until the next unfortunate toddler is mauled by one of these things when the sweet little pet was left with granny.
I for one don't want any of these dogs anywhere near where my toddler is, be that out on the pavement, in a friends house, in the park or on Dartmoor. They have absolutely no place in society.”
by bacardi
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:05PM
“So pleased that you will be getting your dog back. I think its so wrong to seize a dog when it hasn't even done anything wrong. You cannot tar this breed as being all the same. The aggressive ones have been trained to fight. Any breed of dog can be aggressive if brought to be this way.”
by Foosmum2013
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 4:26PM
“So pleased at this outcome. We too have an exempted "pit bull type" dog, seized purely because of how she looks. I had the most amazing DLO that wanted to save her life. It's such a shame she now has restrictions, once seized the dogs have temperament tests and even though they are deemed not a danger to public they stil have to be muzzled, I wouldn't have it any other way, there was no way my dog was being destroyed simply based on looks. It's totally unfair on responsible owners and innocent dogs.”
by Tessa43
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 1:42PM
“Zertos: I totally agree with what you said. It isn't the dog's it is the owners. Well done to Nathan Mathews for treating the dog properly so that it isn't a viscious animal.”
by ChrisOPrayse
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 12:17PM
“The clue is in the name - pit bull - designed and bred for fighting bulls and fighting in pits. They have inbuilt aggression and strength.”