A Staffordshire bull terrier that left an Angus woman requiring surgery is to be castrated and kept muzzled, but could escape destruction.
At Arbroath Sheriff Court on Tuesday, Sheriff Derek Pyle handed the dog Massiano a three-month stay of execution after following recommendations contained in a report from a canine behaviour expert.
The pet’s owner, Gary McMichael (41), was in the dock to learn the fate of the animal, which he has owned for more than seven years.
McMichael had previously admitted being in charge of the dog when it attacked his partner last May at his home in Brechin Road, Arbroath, biting her on the head and face.
Despite being badly mauled and losing a tooth in the incident, Clare Brown wrote a letter to the court appealing for the dog to be spared.
McMichael’s solicitor, Billy Rennie, advised he had received letters asking for the dog to be spared.
This included a representation from a friend who had been “nipped” by the dog, but was not in favour of seeing it put down.
Sheriff Pyle said, “After three months if the author of the report is in favour of keeping the dog on this earth then I will be, too.”
