The owner of a stray dog which killed an animal-loving gran is being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter. Anne Shields, 67, took in the Pitbull called Choccy to live at her holiday home as it was starving.
Anne suffered "catastrophic" injuries to her head and arm after the dog turned on her, according to reports. She died several days later in hospital. Neighbours heard Anne’s screams at her home in Macastre, near Valencia, and raised the alarm. Police who rushed to the address shot the dog so medics could reach Anne.
Her daughter Sarah, from Preston, said the 67-year-old couldn’t bear to cast Choccy back onto the street and that what happened to her is a "nightmare".
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Today police investigators said in their first official comments that the dog’s owner had been identified despite it having no microchip. They also confirmed he had been banned from owning pit bulls and other dogs classified as “potentially dangerous” in Spain because of previous offences.
He has been described as a 35-year-old Spaniard but has not been named by detectives. A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Valencia near Anne’s property in Macastre said: “The Civil Guard is investigating the owner of a dog that attacked a woman in Macastre in February who ended up dying as a result of her injuries.
“The 67-year-old British victim had to be rushed to hospital after officers killed the animal with their weapons so they could assist her due to the animal’s aggressiveness. She died a day after being admitted to hospital because of the wounds to her arms.
“The victim had found the animal in an acute state of malnutrition and showing clear signs of abandonment, with illnesses like canine scabies, four days before it ended her life. She was warned by the vet that saw the animal that it was dangerous and she shouldn’t take it in but she ignored the warnings.
“Detectives launched an investigation to identify the dog’s owner after discovering it had no microchip. They took 15 statements from different people and obtained photos showing the animal, which was aged around two, at different stages of its life.
“The man now under investigation, as well as some of his relatives, recognised the animal when shown the photographs obtained. He is known to police and wasn’t allowed to have these sorts of dogs under current Spanish legislation because of his previous.
“Officers also discovered he had owned dogs of similar characteristics without the necessary safeguards and care. Detectives carried out an investigation of his home and observed the places where the dog could have escaped, as the suspect himself recognised in his statement.
“He is a 35-year-old Spaniard who was formally questioned and accused of a crime of manslaughter and another offence against pets because of his abandonment of a dog considered as potentially dangerous.”
A local investigating magistrate has now taken over an ongoing criminal probe into the February 24 incident. Anne had called the dog Choccy after taking him in. Neighbours raised the alarm after hearing her screaming when she was attacked.
Her daughter Sarah, 43, from Preston, said in the aftermath of her widowed mum’s death: “She was an animal lover and couldn’t bear the thought of throwing Choccy back on the streets. Her intention had never been to keep the dog but all the animal shelters were full. She was looking after him until she found someone who could take him. She stuck with him and then this happened. It’s a nightmare.”
Pit bulls are banned in the UK but not in Spain where a licence is needed to own one.
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