A judge has passed a death sentence on a 50kg American bulldog after it repeatedly bit and wounded a dog walker on a Cumbrian beach while also shaking her pet in his mouth believing it to be a toy.
Jonathan Foxcroft, 48, was prosecuted after an incident at St Bees on September 14 last year.
Carlisle Crown Court heard pensioner Penny Knight was walking on the beach, throwing a ball for her Cavapoo. At the same time Foxcroft was with his powerfully-built off-the-lead bulldog, called Boss, and a friend who had a Staffordshire bull terrier.
As these two dogs began crowding 66-year-old Ms Knight’s, she nudged them away but as they returned she was bundled to the floor and pushed into a stream. She rose to see Boss shaking her screaming dog in his jaws.
Ms Knight sought to help her stricken pet but was bitten several times and recalled hearing Foxcroft state that his dog thought hers was a toy.
Boss — on steroids due to a skin condition — twice launched himself at Ms Knight and her dog despite Foxcroft kicking and jumping on his pet in a bid to gain control.
At one stage, four adults on the beach battled to stop an attack which prompted Ms Knight to curl into a ball on the ground trying to protect her animal.
She suffered 12 puncture wounds to her left hand which caused slight scarring; one large one to her chin; and two small ones to her face. She received a tetanus shot in hospital but did not require stitches nor follow-up treatment.
Her Cavapoo was taken to a vet, having sustained a dislocated hip which required surgery and care costing several thousand pounds.
In an impact statement, Ms Knight described her life being turned upside down by the incident.
Foxcroft, of Bay View, St Bees, failed to provide his details at the scene but later admitted being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control. He had said in the aftermath “It’s an American bully, he’s massive. He’s like 50 kilos (almost 8st)”.
The court heard he was an experienced dog owner whose bulldog had not acted aggressively before the incident nor since. “He deeply regrets what has happened,” said his barrister, Anthony Parkinson.
Of Foxcroft’s toy observation, Judge Ian Unsworth KC said during a sentencing hearing today: “It plainly wasn’t a toy. It was a living creature and that your dog could behave like this is a matter of utmost concern.”
An expert had concluded the dog could be properly controlled in future with a muzzle, being on a lead in public, owner training and home improvements.
But after carefully considering all evidence in the case, Judge Unsworth said he was not satisfied by the proposed conditions, nor that the dog did not constitute a danger to public safety. “If he did attack a child I have no confidence he would be prevented from doing so,” said the judge.
A destruction order was made, meaning Foxcroft must now hand over the dog to police. He must also complete 60 hours’ unpaid work and rehabilitation as part of a community order, and pay Ms Knight £250 compensation.
“This was, on any objective view, a serious incident,” added the judge.
