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A mother-of-three showed “an incredible amount of stupidity” by allowing a “dangerous breed” of dog to savagely attack a man on a scooter and his pet, a magistrate has said.
Skye Georgina James, 27, pleaded guilty in February to allowing her American Staffordshire Terrier, named Shadow, to attack mobility scooter driver Shane Stein and his dog Scooby last January in the southeastern town of Ipswich of Queensland.
The court saw CCTV footage showing the black figure of Shadow running into the street to attack Scooby as Stein, James, his mother and other unidentified local residents repeatedly tried to stop the fierce fight.
Skye Georgina James, 27, pleaded guilty in February to allowing her American Staffordshire Terrier, named Shadow, to attack mobility scooter driver Shane Stein and his dog Scooby last January in the southeastern town of Ipswich of Queensland.
At one point, Mr. Stein was forced off his mobility scooter, while Ms. James, who was the third person at the scene, pulls and slaps Shadow, but is unable to separate him from the other dog.
Finally, with the help of more local residents, one of them wielding a garden hose, the animals are finally separated.
As the images were shown, Ms. James turned her head in tears, the mail reported.
Stein suffered lacerations to his arm and fingers that day, while Scooby suffered a puncture wound to his chest.
Acting magistrate Paul Byrne said the images showed an “incredible display of incompetence” with no one appearing “hI have no idea what they were doing.
Defense lawyer Chris O’Neill argued that Ms James did “the best she could as an incompetent”, but She was a single mother who was expecting her third child at the time of the incident.
Mrs. James had only taken SHe had a shadow under his wing when the previous owner could no longer care for the dog.
The dog, which had never shown such aggression before, escaped from the house when MJames’s mother left the door ajar while she took out the bins.
As Ms James did not have the money to pay for the measures the council suggested were necessary to house Shadow safely, the animal had to be put down.
By fining Ms. James $4,000, plus additional fines for court costs, MProsecutor Byrne said she had demonstrated “chronic neglect” in bringing a “recognized dangerous breed” into your home with young children.
“What I saw on the screen was terrifying, and you know it,” Byrne told James.
“This was something that was waiting to happen… It was an incredible amount of stupidity for you to take responsibility for that dog under any circumstances.”
Acting magistrate Paul Byrne said the footage showed an “incredible display of incompetence” with no one appearing to “have any idea what they were doing”.
He also said that as Ms James had grown up with Staffies, she should have known how potentially dangerous they are.
The magistrate concluded that Mrs James had shown “foolish naivety” but that this had led to “gross negligence” even if there was no malicious intent.
Mr. Stein said Queensland Weather that he and Scooby have recovered well since the attack.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Scooby’s well-being,” Stein said.
He said he was sorry to hear that Shadow had been euthanized, but there needed to be stricter laws about dog attacks.