Danger dog attacked boy after 18ft fall

A dangerous dog which fell 18ft from a window before attacking a teenage boy in

will be put down.

Magistrates at Warley decided Alsatian dog Sam will be destroyed following the third attack in less than a year.

Nicola Taylor, aged 37, Linden Avenue, Tividale yesterday pleaded guilty to being in charge of an out of control dog which caused injury.

Mrs Marion Bibb, prosecuting, told magistrates that on August 31, 2008, the victim, a 14-year-old boy and his 12-year-old friend had been to the shops in Brades Road, Oldbury.

They came out of the shop together and looked across the road where they saw an open window in one of the flats which belonged to Taylor.

Mrs Bibb told the court: "The boys saw the window was open and something fall from the window. The victim thought it was a black rubbish bag but his friend saw it was a dog. They went over the road standing about two metres away and saw it was a dog that had fallen from the window, landing on his stomach with its legs splayed."

Mrs Bibb said the dog whimpered then got up. The 12-year-old ran into the nearby Brades Arms pub but as the victim started to run the dog chased him.

He ran to a nearby garden, the dog bit into the back of his knee, pulling on his jogging bottoms. He managed to shut the garden gate on the dog and he eventually let go at which point Taylor arrived and took the dog. The boy was left with a deep cut and bruising.

Magistrates were told Taylor had already appeared before the courts in November 2007 and June 2008 in connection with her dog. She had been ordered to get it neutered and an order was made that it must be kept under proper control and kept on a lead and muzzled when in public.

Trevor Bytheway, defending, said: "This particular dog was a stray and they took it from a pound because it was about to be destroyed, knowing that it had been mistreated in the past."

He said on the day of this particular case Mrs Taylor had gone to her father-in-law's house nearby and left Sam and their other pet, a rottweiler, at home. Mr Bytheway said it appeared the dogs had been playfighting and Sam fell from the first floor flat.

"There's nothing more that can be done with this dog in my opinion," he said. "There's so much trouble being brought to this family as a result of this dog no matter what they do."

Taylor was also ordered to pay £100 compensation, costs of £100 and was given a conditional discharge for 12 months.