Sheriff orders destruction of Rotweiler after attacks on neighbour
A sheriff has ordered the destruction of Rotweiler which twice attacked and bit a neighbour.
The man had gone to deliver a letter wrongly put through his door when he was bitten on the hand.
The dog had also previously been made subject of a control order after it attacked and injured a Jack Russell terrier.
Sarah Rollo (40), of McClelland Crescent, Dunfermline, admitted that on 26th March last year at her home she was the owner of a Rottweiler dog, which was out of control and bit the man on the body causing injury.
Depute fiscal Alisdair Shaw told Dunfermline Sheriff Court, “The complainer is the next door neighbour of the accused, who has a male, black and tan Rottweiler called Franco.
“At 1.30pm he attended at the accused’s door to deliver a letter which had been put through his door by mistake. The door was answered by the accused’s son.”
As the neighbour stood at the front door and passed over the letter to the boy, the dog suddenly appeared and bit him on the right hand.
The man went home and reported the incident to the police, at which point Rollo came to ask about his injuries. The injured man then went to Queen Margaret Hospital where his wounds were cleaned, bandaged and he was given anti-biotics.
“When police spoke to the accused she was extremely apologetic and said she would be making inquiries about having the dog destroyed,” added the depute.
“It later transpired that a Control of Dog Order had been imposed on 12 months before after it attacked and injured a Jack Russell terrier.”
The depute submitted a motion for destruction.
Defence solicitor Jenny Simpson said, “The dog is two-and-a-half years old and is now owned by her daughter.
“She did say to police at the time that she would look into having it destroyed but says police told her to hold off.
“She admits she was struggling to cope at the time, suffering from depression and anxiety. She took her eye off the ball and should have been more actively involved in making sure this didn’t happen.
“She was told proceedings would be discontinued if she agreed to have the dog put down. However, her position is that it’s a good dog. The only person it’s had an issue with is their neighbour.
“She’s very sorry this has happened.”
At this point, the depute fiscal told the sheriff that the neighbour had bitten by the dog on a previous occasion when he also required hospital treatment.
Sheriff Charles MacNair said, “It’s always sad and distressing for the court to order the destruction of a dog but I do have to have regard to the protection of the public.
“The protection of the public and of human beings is of higher importance and, of course, Rottweilers are known to be substantial and powerful dogs.”
The sheriff said it would be less expensive for the accused if she went ahead and had the dog destroyed rather than the court intervening at this stage.
He pointed out the change of ownership of the dog did not affect the situation.
Sentence was deferred until 2nd May for the dog to be put down and a letter produced in court from a vet to confirm this.asy