A boy was bitten in the face by a dog which had been fed strong lager. But the animal’s life was spared when the court heard that it was ‘good-natured’ before its owner’s uncle gave it the beer. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Joseph Pickering was bitten in the face by the Staffordshire bull terrier moments after a can of Stella Artois was poured down its throat because it was thirsty.
The boy ran in tears to his mother with blood pouring from the wound. He needed a skin graft to repair it.
Magistrates heard that since the attack by his next-door neighbour’s pet, Joe had suffered nightmares and was terrified of dogs.
But the animal’s life was spared when the court heard that it was ‘good-natured’ before its owner’s uncle gave it the lager.
An animal behavioural expert said: ‘I can’t recommend the uncle be put down but I’ll plead strongly on the dog’s behalf.’
Joseph’s mother Carolann Dickson, 43, said: ‘I think it’s disgusting that the dog won’t be put down after everything we’ve been through.
I think it should have been destroyed because of the damage it did to Joe’s face. He’s got to live with that scar.
‘He still gets nightmares and he won’t go in his own bedroom now.
‘He sleeps in ours and he has to have the light on.’ The terrier, named Diesel, is owned by James Holmes, 24, of Colne, Lancashire.
Burnley magistrates were told that the incident happened on a hot day in July after Holmes’s uncle Paul Ashworth had taken Diesel for a walk during which it was attacked by another dog.
A friend of Holmes, Julie Hind, was sunbathing in the garden when she noticed the dog looked thirsty.
