A dad cried and shouted a message for his kids as he was jailed for letting his dangerous dog savage a man in the street.
Shaun Dwyer wept as he said "tell the kids I'm sorry - I didn't want this to happen" after a judge jailed him for 28 months and ordered his dog to be destroyed.
The dog, an American Pitbull Terrier called Mac, subjected Mark McDuff to a "terrifying attack" which left him scarred for life.
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Liverpool Crown Court was told Mr McDuff was cycling to work on June 13 last year when Mac sunk its teeth into his ankle and pulled him from his bike.
Mr McDuff was forced to jump into nearby gardens in a bid to get away from the dog but was left with serious injuries to his arms, legs, and both of his feet and had to undergo surgery as a result.
He has since left his job as a chef and given up his own dog due to the impact the attack has had on his mental health.
Dwyer pleaded guilty to two offences of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury and possessing a fighting dog.
The 26-year-old, of Roby Street, St Helens, appeared in Liverpool Crown Court today where he was sentenced to 28 months in prison and banned from owning any dogs for 10 years.
Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, told the court Mr McDuff was cycling to work along Crossley Road in Thatto Heath, St Helens, when a white dog started chasing him.
Summarising the victim's account, Mr Hopkins said: "He knew that he was not going to get away from the dog and at that point the dog gripped onto him, bit at his ankle and refused to let go."
Mr McDuff tried to get off his bike to get away from the dog but failed to do so.
He recalls jumping into some nearby gardens in an attempt to get away from the dog but it followed him and continued to bite and attack him.
The victim described feeling helpless despite putting the dog into a headlock and doing everything he could to get it off him.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr McDuff said suffers from nightmares and flashbacks since the attack and he now has a fear of dogs which "regrettably" led him to give up his own dog as a result.
He now crosses over the road to get away from any oncoming dogs and has left his job at a local restaurant due to the impact of the attack.
A passerby heard Mr McDuff shouting for help and after witnessing part of the attack she phoned the police.
Mr Hopkins said the victim then recalls a car arriving at the scene and Dwyer got out. He started shouting at the dog and it stopped attacking him.
The dog was put into the car and driven away by Dwyer's girlfriend, while he stayed with Mr McDuff until the emergency services arrived.
The court heard that Dwyer told the victim he was the owner of the dog but later denied ownership of it when questioned by police at the scene.
However, enquires into the registration plate of the car led police to Dwyer's address in St Helens where police found a cage with a broken lock and the gate in the back yard was also broken.
Dwyer was arrested and taken to a police station for questioning, where he was shown a photo of the broken cage, which he laughed at.
Mr Hopkins said: "Asked what he found funny he said 'the whole situation, everything. That's all I've got to say'."
Dwyer replied "no comment" throughout his police interview.
Michael Davis, defending, said his client disputed "that he laughed when the officer was there and pointed out the broken lock."
Mr Davis said: "He was very nervous. He does suffer from mental health problems and he found the whole occasion very stressful so it may have been that it was nervousness that the officer was seeing."
Mr Davis said Dwyer had been trying to get the landlord of the property, where he lived with his girlfriend and their two children, aged five and eight, to fix the broken gate in the yard before the incident took place.
The court heard a destruction order had previously been made for the dog to be destroyed in February 2013 due to it being a prohibited breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
However, Dwyer was given an exemption on the grounds that he followed a specific set of requirements which included keeping the dog on a lead and making sure it had a muzzle in public, keeping it in secure premises and obtaining third party insurance.
The court was told Dwyer had previous insurance policies for the dog but the latest policy had expired on April 29, 2020 and was only renewed after the attack in June.
On the day of the attack, Dwyer claimed a burglary had taken place at his home which caused the dog to break out of its cage in pursuit of the burglar.
Mr Davis said Dwyer and his girlfriend were asleep at the time and woke up to find the dog had gone. They went out looking for it in the car and found it around 10 minutes later.
The court was told Dwyer did not report the burglary to police because he didn't have time upon realising his dog was missing.
He decided not to mention this when interviewed by police about the incident because he had taken the decision not to answer any questions.
Dwyer told his defence barrister that he had the dog for 11 years and this is the first time it has attacked anyone.
He has previous convictions for which he was previously sentenced at youth court but has never received a custodial sentence.
His latest conviction was in 2017 when he was found to be driving a vehicle without a license or insurance and failing to stop when asked by police, for which he was fined.
Sentencing the judge, Recorder David Knifton, QC, said: "This dog is clearly a danger to the public and you are not a fit and proper person to have custody of an animal."
Taking into account his guilty plea, along with the severity and impact the attack has had on the victim, the judge sentenced Dwyer to 28 months in prison.
He also ordered for the dog to be destroyed and banned Dwyer from keeping any dogs for 10 years, starting from today.
Crying as he was led out of the dock, Dwyer turned to his family and said: "Tell the kids I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen. My life is going to go down now so much."
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