A rottweiler that attacked and killed a chihuahua in County Durham will no longer be destroyed after an appeal from its owner.
The six-year-old rescue dog, Chip, attacked the chihuahua in an alleyway in South Moor, Stanley on October 24, last year, as it was being walked by it's owners. Despite the chihuahua's owners attempting to save it from the rottweiler, it sadly died following the incident.
Chip's owner, Derek Wilkinson, 47, of William Street, South Moor, Stanley, was subsequently charged with being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and pleaded guilty to the charge at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on April 5. Wilkinson was fined £80 and ordered to pay a £108 cremation fee for the chihuahua's owner. The magistrates also made a destruction order for Chip. But Wilkinson appealed the destruction order, and on Friday appeared at Durham Crown Court for an appeal hearing.
