The case of a death row “dangerous” dog, which had been held in kennels for the past 20 months while police tried to have it destroyed, has taken a new twist.
Last week The Courier told how Chief Constable Stephen House had abandoned legal moves for the destruction of Kaii a Staffordshire terrier which had mauled a woman, after a legal blunder and was to return the dog to its owner.
However, according to a court source, the dog was never returned at the appointed time and it has emerged that Dundee City Council has intervened to lodge a further civil action at the city’s sheriff court to have the dog destroyed.
Court papers say the council is asking for the dog to be released to them by Police Scotland to undertake the destruction of it.
They are saying the dog is dangerous and out of control and a destruction order under Section 9 of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 should be granted.
As a result it is believed the staffie is to remain in captivity pending the outcome of the case.
The council says it will not comment as it is an ongoing legal matter and it is not known whether the dog will go to the council-operated Brown Street kennels or remain in private kennels.
The Police Scotland action failed after lawyers pointed out the application was incompetent as its owner had been acquitted on appeal on the charge against him under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Derek Duncan, 25, of South Road, Dundee, also had his 10-year ban from keeping dogs quashed by the appeal court.
However, during the initial proceedings, Duncan told police the dog actually belonged to his sister Gemma and police located the dog’s whereabouts, at a private kennel near Dundee, costing an estimated £30,000, at taxpayers’ expense.
After the case was dismissed at the sheriff court last week, Police Scotland issued a statement saying they were making moves to return the dog to its owners.
There is no dispute that Kaii mauled Nadine Crowe in May 2012 after Duncan ordered it to attack his partner, biting off part of the woman’s ear, because she had thrown out a two-day-old takeaway meal.