A woman has been ordered to pay £3,000 compensation by magistrates in London’s East End after her Pit-Bull type dog attacked another pet owner walking her dog in the street and bit her finger off.
Gemma Wilson, 29, admitted offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act and the Animal Welfare Act of causing her own dogs to suffer.
Police were called to Wellington Way in Bromley-by-Bow after Wilson’s Pit Bull attacked a terrier outside her home and its owner.
The 39-year-old woman owner ended up with a severed finger. She and her terrier both needed extensive medical treatment, Thames magistrates court heard on Wednesday.
The attack last August was investigated by Pc Stephen Rodgers, the Met’s local Wildlife crime officer, who got a court warrant under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act.
He warned after the court hearing: “Irresponsible dog owners who mistreat their own animals and allow them to cause injuries to others will be dealt with robustly by police and the courts.”
The Pit-Bull was taken from Wilson’s flat in Berkeley House in Wellington Way on September 26. Two Staffordshire Bull terriers in the flat which were found to be suffering were also seized under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act.
Wilson was ordered to carry out 120 hours’ unpaid community work and given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, in addition to the compensation order.
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