A boxer dog’s vicious attack on a pair of Angus children and their father was only stopped after a neighbour strangled it to death with a choke chain, The Courier can reveal.
Steve Deas’ seven-year-old son had part of his ear bitten off and his sister suffered a bite to her leg after the six-year-old male dog, belonging to Mr Deas’ girlfriend, became “spooked” and mounted the attack.
While Mr Deas tried to protect his son, his nine-year-old daughter alerted the neighbour, who phoned police and then killed the dog.
The incident, which left the boy requiring reconstructive plastic surgery, happened as Mr Deas and the children took three of his girlfriend’s boxer dogs, aged 10, six and five, for a walk off-lead in a field at Aberlemno last Thursday afternoon.
The details emerged during a civil hearing into an unrelated matter at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Solicitor George Donnelly told the hearing that the children had been playing with the dogs earlier in the afternoon and often walked them in an adjoining field.
During the walk, the male dog was in the lead and had become “spooked” and started “snapping” at the girl.
Mr Donnelly said: “She fell, followed by the others, and the dog then attacked.
“Mr Deas covered (his son) and got (his daughter) away.
“She alerted a neighbour, who rang 999 and killed the dog.
“The other two dogs are to be rehomed in what can be described as police custody.”
Mr Deas, 50, who runs the Dundee Pet Food Delivery Service, owns a Rottweiler dog of his own, but this was not present during the incident.
Police inquiries are continuing into the dog attack, but the Courier understands that criminal charges are unlikely to be brought, with a police source describing the incident as “a tragic accident.”