'Out Of Character', Eh?

Not for the dogs, and certainly not for the owner, either:

A woman was attacked by two XL Bully dogs after they ran up to her in the street and tried to grab hold of her puppy. The owner was disqualified from owning dogs and got rid of the XL Bullys before they could be disposed of by the authorities.

Once again, we see the utter uselessness of these banning orders, if no-one ever monitors them... 

Marcus Walsh, 41, was not present when Rachael Millard was attacked by the two dogs in Barry on March 20 last year when they escaped from his partner's home and darted for the victim. She was left with puncture marks to her leg and finger, after placing herself over her Boxer puppy.

She was lucky to get away with that. Was it because bystanders stepped in to help? 

She was screaming out for help and people looked on but did not intervene, the court heard.

*sighs* 

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said the attack lasted around seven minutes until she was able to get up and run from the dogs, adding whichever way she ran, the dogs ran after her. The woman was able to seek refuge after a work colleague called her name and invited her into her house, as others tried to get the dogs back in the property they came from.

Why? Call the police, and they should turn up and shoot these mutts! 

After the incident, Walsh’s partner contacted the complainant’s partner and asked how she was. The defendant messaged apologising and told her not to ring the police. He said: "Hiya love, so sorry this has happened. My daughter feels terrible for opening the door. Please don’t ring the police, I haven’t got the dogs now to stop them from being put down, it breaks my heart and the kids’. If you need help let us know."

Typical mutt, totally typical owner... 

Walsh later attended her property bringing flowers and apologising, saying there was concern around him being on licence and having been banned from owning dogs. He said it was "pointless" contacting the police because the dogs had been given away. The defendant, now of Plantation Close, Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil, attended a voluntary interview with police and made no comment. He later pleaded guilty to being the owner/in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. The court heard Walsh has 121 previous convictions, including an identical offence in 2016 when a dog he owned named Otto injured a person trying to stop the dog from attacking his dog, resulting in puncture wounds to his hands and wrists, and a cracked rib.

One wonders why a man with a record would want weapon dogs, unless it was to protect something in the house. 

Tough one for the defence, you'd think. You'd be wrong. 

In mitigation, Victoria Maud said her client is a "hard working" man and was not present when the dogs escaped from his partner's house. She said the animals acted "out of character" and said the incident "came out of nowhere". The barrister said the defendant accepts the incident could have been "much worse than it was" and he has shown "great remorse". When asked by Judge Daniel Williams if Walsh would divulge the location of the dogs, Ms Maud said the defendant believes one of the dogs is being put down and the other dog is living with a friend in "the Valleys" and would be willing to find out the address. The judge said: "He's had ample time to do that."

Heh! At last. a judge not swayed by the story told by the defence.  

Walsh was sentenced to a total of 18 months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from having the custody of a dog for 10 years.

Well, that'll work this time, right? Or do we go for 'best of three' at some point in the future?