The owner of a huge bulldog on steroids which "tore apart" a Dachshund puppy and left its owners with puncture wounds to their necks, face and fingers has been spared jail.
Lindz Fairbrass' pooch Bear - on steroid medication for a skin condition, which made him more aggressive - jumped up at Tracey Ground as she and husband Christopher were walking their two small dogs near their home.
Bear sent the woman tumbling to the gravel path, and began attacking her 11-month-old sausage dog, Stanley.
A court heard Bear was not wearing his electric dog collar to keep him under control at the time, and escaped from Fairbrass’ back garden in Whitstable, Kent.
Stanley, a little 4kg Dachshund, died from his injuries, and both Mr and Mrs Ground suffered cuts and scrapes.
Mrs Ground, who also sustained a puncture wound to her face, says she has since been receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and is afraid to go walking in her street in case she's attacked again.
But Fairbrass was spared jail despite admitting being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control and caused injury.
Sitting at Margate Magistrates' Court on Thursday, chairman of the bench Bridget Barlow said: "Bear caused injuries in the form of cuts and bruises as a result of being out of control.
"As we have heard today, neither Mr nor Mrs Ground could actually recall being bitten by Bear.
"So the basis on which we will sentence you is that the injury to Tracey Ground’s face was not caused by Bear but was as a direct consequence of Bear being out of control.
"We are going to order you to complete 120 hours of unpaid work. You are also ordered to pay £400 in compensation to Mrs Ground, £300 to Mr Ground and £310 in costs."
Mrs Ground, from Whitstable, told the court she saw her puppy "being dragged" by the bulldog on August 1, 2022.
The victim said: "I remember looking up and seeing my puppy being dragged – and then I was dragged up the road because I had the lead around my hand. There was nothing I could do.
"I saw him tearing my Stanley apart. I can’t get that out of my head."
Fairbrass was weeding in her back garden when her hosepipe got stuck underneath the gate, preventing it from latching shut.
Bear had got through the gate and jumped over the wall, KentOnline reports.
"Bear had taken and bitten the lower half of the puppy’s body, and I’ve got Bear by the collar and I’m punching him and shouting until all of a sudden he just lets go," the defendant recalled.
"Bear was on a steroid for a skin condition - it heightened his aggression and made him very aggressive towards other dogs and cats.
"Every time I took him out I had an electric collar on him, and I had ordered a special muzzle from Ukraine, but I don’t use the collar when he’s at home."
Mr Ground helped his spouse try to free Stanley during the 30-second attack.
"I was trying to pull the back of the bulldog’s neck and then trying to open the bulldog’s mouth but it was fixated.
"When he finally did release him the puppy was lifeless - its eyes were open but it was barely moving," Mr Ground told the court.
The day after the attack, Fairbrass, a prison officer, sent an email to her neighbours apologising for the incident and called a vet to arrange for Bear to be put down.
But before that could happen, she said the police confiscated the animal from her home and “destroyed” it.
The defendant told magistrates: "There’s no apology I could make that could ever take away the pain of them losing their precious dog.
"I have had nightmares of dead dogs at the end of my bed.
"I have also had hate mail from a few of the neighbours."
