[A] WOMAN has been handed a suspended jail term after her dog bit a police officer neighbour for the second time.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how victim Kelsey Neen was bitten and wounded when the Shar Pei, called Blue, launched a “ferocious” late night attack in Whitehaven.
Ms Neen had been awoken by the dog barking in her garden in the early hours of June 1. It had escaped from the insecure home of neighbour Laura Anne Prowse and bit her as she tried to usher it off her property.
Ms Neen was left with scars to both arms and, the court heard, had been bitten by the dog on a previous occasion.
Thirty-year-old Prowse, now of Devon Road, Whitehaven, was sentenced today (FRI) for being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control. The Shar Pei had been subject to a contingent destruction order (CDO) for previous aggressive behaviour which required it to be muzzled, neutered and kept under control.
Recorder Julie Clemitson concluded it had not been a deliberate breach of the CDO by Prowse, but said the dog’s getaway should have been both “foreseen and prevented”.
Prowse had an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and must also complete 120 hours’ unpaid work and rehabilitation. She was banned from keeping dogs for a year.
