A passionate plea has failed to save a dog from death row after its owner was jailed for urging the animal to bite a police officer’s rear.
”The dog was pure placid and good natured and to my knowledge, she had never bitten anyone before.
”Once I taught her commands she would adhere to them and would do what she was told. She was a good dog.”
Martin Reeves Junior also described Bonnie as a ”placid” dog, saying young children would often approach him while out walking to stroke the animal.
The Rottweiler was impounded and set for destruction after biting two police officers as they called round at the younger Reeves’ Auchterarder home on February 3.
They had gone to impose a fine on the 24-year-old when a fracas broke out and the dog was told to attack.
During an earlier hearing, the officers described how the elder Reeves had initially tried to calm his son, but when they started brawling with him, he shouted at his pet to ”get them”.
Sheriff Eric Brown found him guilty of assaulting the two constables by commanding Bonnie to attack them.
He also found Reeves guilty of being the owner of a dangerously out of control dog at John Law Court, allowing it to repeatedly bite the officers to their injury.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Sheriff Brown described the offence as a ”serious matter”.
”What I am concerned with is whether or not the dog would be a danger to public safety,” he said.
”Having listened to Mr Cowing’s description of his encounters with the dog on three occasions while in your custody and on the one occasion while was in kennels, I am not satisfied that the dog will not pose a threat to public safety. I will order its destruction.”
Following this announcement, a clearly distraught Reeves began remonstrating with Sheriff Brown, begging him to change his mind and saying he was ”out of order”.
He was ordered to calm down so the sheriff could continue and was advised that he would be banned from keeping dogs for two years.
Rottweiler Bonnie will now be destroyed after the SSPCA described it as ”aggressive” and said it could ”never be rehomed”.
Owner Martin Reeves was jailed for three months on being found guilty of setting the dog on police officers.
SSPCA senior officer Brian Cowing told Perth Sheriff Court that, on the five occasions he had seen the animal, its behaviour led him to ”keep his distance”, despite having more than 30 years’ experience with dogs.
Although he admitted that the Rottweiler was in excellent condition thanks to the efforts of Reeves, he did not feel its nature had improved.
Mr Cowing said: ”I don’t think anything could be done to improve this dog’s behaviour. I took the opportunity to visit it again where it was being held to see if anything could change my mind about it, but I don’t think so.
”It is my opinion that this dog would constitute a danger to the public if it were to be given back to Reeves.”
He revealed that he had also spoken with staff at the kennels where Bonnie is being kept and they said they could not confidently hand the dog over to new owners.
His evidence was fervently disputed by Reeves, who said he felt so comfortable with the Rottweiler that it often slept in his bed.
The 52-year-old told the court he regularly welcomed visitors to his Stanley Crescent home and had no difficulties with his pet.
”She loved the banter when people were round and there was not one single second where that dog did anything aggressive towards me or my friends,” he said.
Continued…