UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog owner has been told to muzzle her pets after one attacked horses and another turned out to be a pit bull terrier.
Laura Babij was ordered to pay £245 to a vet who was called to stitch bites to the horses, which had been caused by her black-and-white dog named Biggs.
A court was told that some Shetland ponies were chased by the dog near Boulton Edge Farm, Chellaston, on July 28 last year. The dog grabbed a pony's neck in an attack which left a nine-year-old girl witness distressed.
Peter Bettany, prosecuting at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates court, said: "A man and woman were with the dog and both seemed very relaxed, didn't seem to care and just walked off."
On August 4, two horses were being ridden near Littlemeadow Road, when two dogs appeared. Biggs attacked one of the horses.
"The dog was hanging off the horse's chest," said Mr Bettany. "The other dog was trying to jump on to the horse." Both horses began to panic and the second one was bitten on the belly, the court was told.
Babij, 26, of Sandyhill Close, Chellaston, admitted owning a dog worrying livestock, being in charge of one acting dangerously and having custody of a fighting dog, namely a ginger-and-brown pit bull terrier named China. She was put on probation for a year and told to attend a course to help her find work.
Mr Bettany applied for China to be destroyed but this was refused. District Judge Caroline Goulborn said there had been no evidence to suggest it had caused injury but was regarded as "a dangerous dog because of its type."
As well as being muzzled and kept on a leash in public, it was ordered that the dog should have an identity tattoo and be covered by third-party insurance. A "contingent destruction order" was also imposed which means it faces being put down if it causes problems.
Justine Dexter, mitigating, said the pit bull was pregnant at the time and gave birth in police custody. The pups were found homes with "responsible owners".
She told the court: "When they are 12 to 18 months, they are assessed. If they are found to be pit bull type animals they don't destroy them, they subject the owners to checks and have the dogs tattooed.
"A section of a report says this dog is aggressive towards other animals, livestock predominantly, but does not represent a danger to the public.
"The pit bull is not the animal that attacked the horse. The animal which caused the injury was Biggs," said Miss Dexter. The prosecution did not apply for Biggs to be put down.
The court was told that a man had also been dealt with by another court for the offences.
(thisisderbyshirenews - April 20, 2013)
