The Angus owner of an “escape artist” Siberian husky which ran amok in a coop full of rare chickens has been ordered to pay £450 compensation for his pet’s attack.
Former Royal Marine Edward Bennison was unaware the three-year-old dog named Killow had escaped from a run at his Nether Tulloes home, near Letham in April.
The animal found its way to a house two miles away near the village of Craichie, east of Forfar. where there was a coop full of rare breeds in the garden.
It slaughtered 22 chickens and cockerels in the morning attack before the shocked householders, who were having breakfast, caught sight of the dog with a chicken in its mouth.
They ran out to chase it off and when the dog fled it was discovered that it had been in a number of runs at the property.
The dead birds included rare breeds such as a Shamo cockerel and lavender arcane chicken.
The dog was caught by police when it returned to the house as they were taking statements.
When the accused then went to the police station to report the husky missing he was cautioned and charged with the offence.
Bennison, 59, previously admitted a charge of owning a dog that had worried livestock by entering the pen and killing the birds.
But sentence was deferred to obtain a replacement cost following a suggestion that the slaughtered chickens could have been worth as much as £800.
The accused, who represented himself in the case, previously told the court he had a dog re-homing centre and described the breed as having a “very high prey drive”.
“They are the closest domestic dog to a wolf. I did not know this one was an escape artist,” he said.
The court had heard that since the incident the accused had improved security around the paddock where dogs are kept before being re-homed, including putting mesh under a fence to stop them digging their way out.
He said that in three years of running the centre there had been no escapes.
At the time of his original guilty plea, Bennison told the court he had 12 dogs in his care.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard a valuation had been obtained from a firm of livestock auctioneers which had placed the total cost of the birds at £360. In addition, the price of obtaining the valuation was almost £100.
Bennison told Sheriff Gregor Murray that he had carried out his own research and had come up with a figure of £275, but the sheriff said the court had to take the independent valuation for compensation purposes.