He was supposed to be muzzled and on a lead at all times in public following an earlier incident
An aggressive out-of-control dog attacked and bit three people after suddenly lunging at them on three separate occasions when it should have been muzzled. The victims all suffered nasty injuries and they were left horrified and shocked by the frightening attacks.
During one of the completely random attacks, the unsuspecting victim was left with a large amount of blood on his jacket, Hull Crown Court heard. Jacqueline Constable, 69, of Pilots Way, off South Bridge Road, Hull, admitted three offences of being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control and caused injury on November 2 and on December 19 and 28 last year.
Georgia Bradley, prosecuting, said that Constable was the owner of a black labrador dog called PJ. Because of a previous incident, involving the dog biting someone, Constable signed a voluntary control order agreeing to ensure that PJ was muzzled and on a lead at all times while out in public.
On November 2 last year, a woman was walking across Millennium Bridge, Hull, at about 10.50am. She was with her boyfriend and they were walking their friend’s dog, Reggie, a Border collie/kelpie.
Constable was walking across the bridge with PJ on the opposite side. “PJ started barking aggressively and charged at Reggie,” said Miss Bradley. The boyfriend moved away with Reggie but PJ lunged out at the woman and bit her on her left forearm.
“She clung on to the railing to try to keep herself upright as she was scared of pulling away and causing further damage,” said Miss Bradley. PJ let go of his grip about five to 10 seconds later.
The woman suffered puncture wounds and her arm was in severe pain. She could not move it. She went to Bransholme walk-in centre and received treatment, including a tetanus shot and antibiotics.
The incident affected her greatly and she was now terrified of large dogs. She was more nervous and anxious around dogs.
On December 19 last year, a man was walking his dog near Pilots Way and he saw Constable walking her dog, which was on a lead but was not muzzled. The man allowed his dog to walk off its leash as it was dog-friendly and would respond to being called back.
The man’s dog approached Constable and he put his dog back on the leash while he spoke with Constable. “All of a sudden, PJ lunged at him, bit him on his left forearm, latched on and started trying to shake his arm in its mouth,” said Miss Bradley.
The man yanked his arm away and PJ fell to the ground before lunging at the man’s right arm and biting him on the forearm and wrist. Constable pulled her dog away and began apologising. There was a significant amount of blood on his jacket and he went to Hull Royal Infirmary, where the wound was treated and he was given a tetanus jab and antibiotics.
The man later said that Constable had chosen to ignore the voluntary control order and, if she had followed it, none of this would have happened. He was now very cautious with labradors.
On December 28 last year, a woman was walking her two dogs at about 3.45pm and she was with her boyfriend. She was walking across Millennium Bridge towards Hull city centre when she saw Constable approaching from the opposite direction with her dog.
The man was between Constable and his dogs. The woman spoke to Constable and asked her if she was all right. Constable replied: “No, he’s getting a bad name on here.”
The woman walked towards her to ask why but PJ immediately snarled, bolted away from her, leapt up and bit the woman on her left arm just above her elbow. The woman tried to pull way but PJ latched onto her and was dangling from her arm for a few seconds.
She was wearing a thick jacket and jumper but PJ had bitten through both layers, causing a six-inch-wide tear, and leaving five puncture wounds. She went to Hull Royal Infirmary, where she was given a tetanus injection, an X-ray and antibiotics.
The wound was cleaned and, the next day, the injury was stitched to close it. The incident left the woman feeling “incredibly anxious” and she struggled to go outside. Her favourite tattoo was badly damaged from the bite.
Steven Garth, mitigating, said that Constable, a widow, had no previous convictions. “She has found the whole experience of coming before the courts extremely stressful,” said Mr Garth.
“She is worrying profusely about what will happen to her dog. She and her daughter are extremely fond of what is an extremely valued family pet.”
Constable was given a 21-month suspended prison sentence and 120 hours’ unpaid work. She was ordered to pay £100 compensation to each victim and a £187 surcharge. A decision will be made next year on what will happen to the dog.