OK, Put The Owner Down Instead, Then…

Recorder Michael Blakey read a defence report from animal behavioural expert Dr David Sands, which concluded Kinzi was not a danger to the public while under the control of a responsible handler.

The judge said: "I am not satisfied, based on the information that I have, that the dog is a danger to the public when in safe hands."

Such hands most decidedly not being those of it’s owner:

Abigail Hudson, prosecuting, told the court the defendant rang the police, because she was very drunk and arguing with her friend.

Officers attended and tried to speak to the occupants, but the moment the door was opened, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier crossbreed went to attack the police.

Probation officer Nicholas Powell, who interviewed Wardle, said she had had three children, two of whom had died.

Philip Holden, defending, told the court: "She has been very, very tearful.”

I expect the police officer who had to have one of the beast’s teeth extracted from her hand shed a few tears too. It’s really no wonder they aren’t inclined to take chances, is it?

Wardle, said to also suffer from anxiety and depression, had already been convicted of having a dog dangerously out of control in public in 2012, involving the same animal.

/facepalm

The 59-year-old, who had been in custody three days after she was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear for sentence last Thursday, was given four months in jail, suspended for a year with 12 months' supervision.

She was banned from owning a dog for six years.

What do you have to do to get put behind bars these days?