A man has admitted being in charge of a dog which bit the nose of a bystander while the pet was dangerously out of control in a Cumbrian hamlet.
Alexander Pattinson, 33, had previously pleaded not guilty to one allegation and was due to have stood trial in front of a jury at Carlisle Crown Court.
But when Pattinson appeared in front of a judge at the crown court on Friday he changed his plea to guilty.
He admitted being the owner of a dog — said to be an Italian mastiff called Gino — which caused injury to a man while it was dangerously out of control. The criminal proceedings follow an incident in Harriston, near Aspatria, on March 20 last year.
Pattinson’s barrister, Anthony Parkinson, provided an update on the possible future of the dog. “There are expert reports from the defence,” Mr Parkinson told the judge, Recorder Julian Shaw. “They are favourable in the sense of the dog posing any risk to public safety.”
In addition, Mr Parkinson understood the Crown Prosecution Service had indicated that it did not wish to positively seek a destruction order for the dog.
However, he acknowledged that animal’s future would be decided by a judge on a future date.
Recorder Shaw adjourned the case and ordered the preparation of a probation service pre-sentence report.
Pattinson, of Harriston, is due to receive his punishment on July 3 and was granted bail in the meantime. Recorder Shaw said the fact he was adjourning the case for background information to be prepared was no indication of the sentence that Pattinson would receive on that date.
