Danger dogs destroyed after rampage

One victim described the five minute attack as “the most frightening experience of my life.”
Both dogs had to be destroyed after escaping their Thatcham owner’s home, Newbury magistrates were told on Thursday, September 4.
Forty-six-year-old Nicola Karen Collins of Mount Road was banned from owning dogs indefinitely.
John Chappell, prosecuting, said two friends - John Bremner and Georgina Warren - were walking their own dogs around 4pm on July 18 when the terriers, a Staffordshire and a banned American pit bull, “appeared from nowhere.”
The Staffordshire, known as Roxy, went for the pair’s pets before attacking the owners, biting repeatedly and “locking on” with its jaws, said Mr Chappell, while the pit bull, known as Ace, leaped around them.
He added: “The Staffordshire kept taking bites from their arms and it was some time before they could break free and take refuge in a nearby house, from which they called an ambulance due to the severity of their injuries.
“Some time later, a member of the public flagged down a police car in Larkspur Gardens and said a large, male dog had just run into his house and out again. Meanwhile the other dog was still outside the house in which the victims had taken refuge.”
Police finally managed to capture the dogs in Pimpernel Place and officers noted that the female was bloodied.
Mr Chappell: “The male was examined by a dog legislation official who determined it was an illegal breed and had not been registered and microchipped. Both dogs were destroyed because of the level of damage and because no owner came forward. “An anonymous phone call later identified the defendant as the owner. Apparently the pit bull had been found wandering on a previous occasion. ”
Both victims needed hospital treatment for multiple bite wounds to their hands and arms, the court heard.
Mr Chappell said Ms Warren suffered multiple puncture wounds “through to the fat layer” in her arms and hands, while Mr Brewmner suffered similar injuries which also needed irrigating, draining, closing and bandaging. His left arm was placed in a sling, magistrates were told.
Their pets needed veterinary treatment together totalling more than £500, said Mr Chappell.
In a victim impact statement Ms Warren described the incident as the most frightening of her life and said she still wakes crying from nightmares; that she relives the ordeal in her mind and is frightened to walk her dog.
Mother-of-three Ms Collins admitted two charges of owning a dog dangerously out of control which caused injury and one charge of possessing an illegal fighting dog.
Aisling Mulligan, defending, said: “She is nothing short of horrified that her beloved family pets were involved in this incident but she understands that destruction of the dogs was the right course.”
She added: “They were indoor dogs, walked twice a day and they were loved by everyone in the neighbourhood. It was actually the dog that was perfectly legal that caused the damage.”
Magistrates banned Ms Collins from owning dogs “until further notice” and ordered her to pay compensation of £250 each to the victims.
In addition she was ordered to pay Ms Warren’s vet bill of £419.88 and Mr Bremner’s bill of £44.03, plus £45 costs.