A Ceredigion woman has been convicted of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control.
Diane Lees, 55, of North Road, Lampeter, admitted offences of being the owner of a dog dangerous out of control causing injury and being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control when she appeared at Llanelli Magistrates' Court on Friday, 10th May 2024.
Lees was sentenced at Aberystwyth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 15th May 2024.
As discussed in our previous article about dangerous dogs and the law, these are offences under section 3(1) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
In relation to the aggravated (causing injury) offence, the maximum penalty is 5 years' custody and/or an unlimed fine on conviction on indictment; 6 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction. In relation to the standard offence, the maximum penalty is 6 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
Magistrates heard that Lees was the owner of a dog named Satan, which was dangerously out of control on North Road, Lampeter on Sunday, 15th October 2023.
On Thursday, 4th January 2024, Satan was dangerously out of control and caused injury to a police officer in New Bridge, Lampeter.
There are no further details about the circumstances of either offence. It has to be said that legally the bar for what constitutes "dangerously out of control" is not very high - all that is required is for a person to be of the reasonable belief that the dog could cause injury to a person or assistance dog. That ranges from a bit of growling at one end of the spectrum to a full blown dog attack at the other.
Magistrates were of the view that Lees' offences, when considered in the round, were serious enough to merit a community order.
She was sentenced to an 18-month community order with a 9 months' alcohol treatment requirement and up to 20 days' rehabilitation activity requirement.
She was also ordered to pay £40 fine, £85 towards prosecution costs and £300 in compensation to the injured officer.
There is no mention of the surcharge, but given the award of costs it is likely (unless someone has muddled their priorities) she was also ordered to pay that £114 fee.
In accordance with section 4(1)(a) of the Act, the court also ordered the destruction of Satan.
Given its past behaviour and temperament the dog was deemed to be a danger to the public. Furthermore, Lees had demonstrated an inability to properly control the dog.
Lees was also banned from keeping dogs for a period of 5 years.
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