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08
Sept 2023
Woman fined after being in charge of dangerous dog in Harrogate
A Harrogate woman has been fined for being in charge of a dangerous dog after it bit a 15-year-old boy.
Deborah Patterson, 61, of Southville Terrace, pleaded guilty to two offences which took place in August last year.
She initially plead not guilty at a hearing in March but changed her plea before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.
Phillip Morris, prosecuting, told the court the defendant’s dog, Baxter, a boxer, bit the first victim on the leg while dangerously out of control in a small park at the junction of Skipton Road and Ripon Road on August 1
A week later, the same dog bit another dog between Skipton Road and Ripon Road.
Reading a witness statement, Mr Morris said the first victim, who was 15-years-old at the time of the incident, was sitting with a friend on a bench near Patterson's home at 9.30am when Baxter approached him.
He added the dog jumped up at him and, after turning his back on Baxter, the dog bit the victim on the back of his leg.
The witness said:
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also posted a picture on his Snapchat story captioned: “I’ve just been bitten by a dog".
He suffered bruising to the back of his leg as a result of the incident, the court heard.
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Patterson and her dog were then involved in a second incident on August 9.
Reading the second witness statement, Mr Morris said the named victim had been walking her two dogs with her baby in a pram near the same parkland on Ripon Road at around 10am. Baxter ran over and bit one of the woman's dogs on the neck.
Ms Patterson and the second victim’s leads also became entangled and, as a result, caused the pram to tilt, the court heard.
The victim said in her witness statement:
Neither the woman nor the baby were injured during this incident.
Mr Morris said that while neither victim wished for Baxter to be destroyed, they wanted the court to understand the defendant’s "acute lack of apology" following the incidents.
'Lady of good character'
Peter Minnikin, defending for Patterson, told the court the offences took place more than 12 months ago and Baxter had not been involved in any similar incidents before or since.
He said Patterson was a "lady of good character" who had taken Baxter to behavioural training sessions in Cumbria.
Mr Minnikin added she had shown contrition in police interviews and had taken steps to control her dogs on walks since the offences.
In an interview with the police, the defendant said about the second incident:
At sentencing, the magistrates chose not to give a destruction order or contingent destruction order against the dog.
Instead, due to the defendants noted ‘good character’ and no further incidents taking place, the magistrates fined the 61-year-old £1,296.
She was also ordered to pay a total of £250 to the 15-year-old victim and £100 to the second victim as compensation.
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