A woman who pleaded guilty to having an out-of-control dog after her Staffy-cross mauled a postman’s leg and dragged him around like a ‘rag doll’ has been spared jail.
Mark Fox was delivering mail to the home of Gemma Woods, 40, in Bury, Greater Manchester, on April 22 last year when he heard a dog barking aggressively.
Mr Fox, who has been in the profession over 20 years, noticed the fence was broken then heard a loud bang as the Staffy-cross came charging at him before it bit his lower leg, knocking him to the ground.
Neighbours described the dog moving him around ‘like a rag doll’, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Eventually, a man came out of the house and took the dog inside. Woods then came outside ‘hysterically crying’ and apologised to Mr Fox, who required surgery for his injuries.
Gemma Woods, 40, of Bury, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to being an owner in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury
Despite the wounds to his leg, which were operated on in hospital, the postman has made a full recovery.
Woods pleaded guilty to being an owner in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury. She was handed a community order and has to pay a £50 fine.
Betsy Hindle, prosecuting, said Mr Fox could hear the dog and noticed the 5ft fence outside the house was broken on the day of the incident.
‘He then heard a loud bang and saw the dog coming towards him,’ Ms Hindle said. ‘The dog came up to him and bit him on the lower leg causing him to fall backwards and the dog remained on his leg.’
Mr Fox tried to remove the dog by kicking out and wiggling his leg, to no success. A man then came out of the house, initially saying the injury was caused by Mr Fox falling backwards.
The postman said it was clearly a bite from the dog before calling the emergency services. Whilst on the phone, Woods came out of the house ‘hysterically crying’ and repeatedly apologised to Mr Fox.
In a police interview, Woods (left) wept at the thought of a destruction order for the dog. The such order has been made and the dog remains with her
Appearing at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester, Woods was handed a community order and with a £50 fine
She was later arrested and said in her interview that the dog was a Staffy-cross, and became emotional because she ‘knew what was going to happen to it’. She added that she knew the gate was broken and the dog managed to get out whilst she had gone to the toilet.
In a statement, Mr Fox said the incident hadn’t altered his view on dogs but he was concerned if that dog escaped from the house that it could cause harm to other people, including children or animals. He had to take time off work but did not lose out financially, the prosecutor said.
Woods was said to have no previous convictions. The dog, which wasn’t named in court, has remained with her and there have been no further reported incidents.
Michael Lea, mitigating for Woods, said his client was disabled and had limited movement in her legs.
‘She is extremely regretful and remorseful about what happened,’ he said. ‘She was very emotional the first time she heard anything to do with the dog being put down.’
He said Woods had taken steps to make her home more secure including fixing the broken gate, installing two padlocks and buying a Ring doorbell. Mr Lea added that the dog has not been out of the house without a muzzle or a lead since the incident in April.
Sentencing, the judge, Recorder Michael Blakey said: ‘He indicated his fear that if this escalated again that the dog would attack others. Since this offence, you have taken steps to stop this from happening again.’
Woods, of Ribble Drive, Bury, was sentenced to a 12 month community order, 12 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and ordered to pay a £50 fine over the course of ten weeks. No orders were made to destroy the dog.
