The unemployed builder, from Enfield, North London, was eventually arrested in February after his own mother shopped him to police after recognising him fleeing the scene in seafront CCTV footage posted on video site YouTube.
Diedrick appeared in the dock at Basildon Crown Court today wearing a black suit and tie with a suitcase packed in anticipation of an extended stay in jail.Yes, it’s this case.
And for once, that suitcase wasn’t a wasted effort. He got 16 months and a ten year ban from dog ownership.
Judge Owen Davies QC said: 'The fact that the boy did not drown or was not mauled to a greater extent was down to the heroic and selfless actions of his grandmother.
'You allowed your dogs to roam without muzzles on a public beach. The behaviour you displayed after the event shows a callous disregard for the welfare of the victim.
'You left the scene and made yourself scarce. It was only thanks to the vigilance of others on YouTube that you were traced.
'You had every interest in escaping without being brought to account. Any remorse you have shown is merely for your own fate.'And are the parents relieved? Are they campaigning to for answers to the obvious questions, such as how can an unemployed builder have the wherewithal to buy, own and feed two powerful pedigree dogs?
No, of course not:
After sentencing the family of the boy said: 'We can never say enough how grateful we are that we still have our grandson and that he seems to be recovering well despite his injuries.
'We are pleased with today’s sentence and feel it was completely irresponsible of the defendant to take two large dogs onto a beach without being able to control them on leads.
'All dogs of that stature and aggressive nature should be on a short lead with a muzzle when out in a public place.
'If people want to own dogs like that they must understand the responsibility they have to others’ safety.'*sigh* Despite the fact that muzzles aren’t always effective, and nor are leashes, we are once again embarking on a campaign to punish all Rottweiler owners because of one irresponsible one.
And we know the public sector will be ever so welcoming of this, won’t they?
As a non dog owner, I'm a bit unsure as to how muzzles are ineffective, if they prevent a dog from opening its jaws wide enough to bite ..
ReplyDeleteI can't agree that muzzling dogs in public is a form of "collective punishment", when surely the last thing any responsible & loving dog owner needs is the ensuing hassle should their dog bite someone ..
We read on these pages, almost daily of someone, somewhere being bitten whilst in public .. I believe that instead of attempting to categorise dogs by size or breed, the government needs to address the fact that all dogs from Yorkshire Terriers to Newfoundlands are capable of inflicting bites on humans & should therefore be muzzled whenever in a public place ..
Incidentally, as a child, I was bitten (fortunately not badly) by the Airedale which was owned by my grandmother's neighbours .. my own fault entirely, as I went into their garden to retrieve a ball, I was told it was my fault in no uncertain terms and that the dog was "only doing its job" & I received scant sympathy ..
Captain - As a dog owner (two boxers)...and not that I've ever tried them but...muzzles would simply slip off the snouts of a fair few breeds. Even if they don't they still don't have enough flex in them to allow the dog to pant properly which can be fatal in a medium/large breed in summer heat.
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, the type that allow their dogs to viciously attack other dogs and people would not put them on anyway leaving a muzzled dog completely defenceless. I'd never, ever put my dogs in that position.
You can train a dog in any number of ways but I believe total control can only be achieved by actually walking them on a lead and it comes to down to 2 things:
1) who weighs more...you or the dog. The combined weight of two large dogs is more than anyone can handle. I walk mine separately.
2) whether the lead is short enough to disallow their back legs to bend enough for them to "spring" into a run or hunch down into a kind of "stalk/hunt" walk.
Maybe I'm over cautious but I believe that that dogs should never be off their leads in public around people at all and if *that* was mandatory...and penalised for deliberate failure...the number of attacks would drop like a stone.
I know I've said this before, but until Jeremy Clarkson's view that any dog biting a person should be put down - immediately followed by its owner, then this sort of thing will continue. It may take some time, but eventually the gene pool will become calm, clear and welcoming.
ReplyDeleteAt least Hollande's Rottweiler is not under the hammer. Oh hang on ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining Tatty ..
ReplyDeleteCaptain - just hope it didn't come across too much like a lecture...it wasn't meant to be :)
ReplyDelete"As a non dog owner, I'm a bit unsure as to how muzzles are ineffective..."
ReplyDeleteAs Tatty points out, some breeds just can't wear them, they can be badly fastened and slip, or the idiot owner can remove them.
And leads are worse than useless if the dog is stronger than you are.
"..I believe that that dogs should never be off their leads in public around people at all and if *that* was mandatory...and penalised for deliberate failure...the number of attacks would drop like a stone."
I don't think it'd ever drop to zero, because of idiots such as the one in the link above...