A man has been banned from owning dogs for five years after his pet rottweiler injured a number of people and their dogs.
Mubashar Ali has been given a suspended sentence at Bolton Crown Court, following two separate incidents in Bolton.
The more serious occurred on March 10 2020, when Ali’s dog, Billy, knocked a woman to the ground in Bradford Street, Farnworth.
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Billy then attacked the woman’s dog and ‘badly injured’ it, prosecution barrister William Donnelly told the court.
Mr Donnelly said that the woman had been on the phone to her daughter at the time of the attack, who heard her mum screaming as Billy set upon them.
Ali, 29, was working at a nearby house at the time and after hearing the noise, came over to intervene.
A neighbour also got involved but got injured herself and had to have stitches, as well as a tetanus jab.
The court heard that Billy was in such a frenzy someone had to hit him over the head repeatedly with a piece of wood to try and make him stop.
Due to the injuries caused to the woman’s dog, she had to pay a £768.97 vet bill.
The woman also suffered an eye injury, as well as grazing.
In a victim personal statement, the woman described herself as a ‘retired widow’ and spoke about how the incident had affected her.
“I’m absolutely terrified,” she said.
“I’ve not been out of the house. I’m scared to leave or go out.”
In another statement, seven months later, she said she still felt “anxious” and “lacking in confidence”.
The attack was just a month after a previous incident in the Chew Moor area of Lostock.
On February 9, 2020, Billy had become loose and attacked a dog on Tempest Road.
The dog that Billy attacked had a coat on so was not badly injured but its owner got a grazed knee and injured her finger as she tried to get Billy off.
In a state of panic, the woman then threw her dog through the open window of a nearby car, the court heard.
Ali, of Tempest Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
Mr Donnelly told the court that Ali had received a warning from the dog warden in July 2019 after Billy was reported as loose in Lostock.
Billy was also involved in an incident on November 30 2019, when another dog was “badly mauled”.
In that case, Christine Wilkinson, 51, of Tempest Road, was in charge of the dog. She was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge last year.
Billy was put down in October 2020, the court heard.
Defending Ali, Alison Heyworth admitted that he “should have known better” but stressed that the injuries caused to people were not serious.
Miss Heyworth added that Ali had owned the dog since it was young and did not have anyone he could leave it with.
Judge Tom Gilbart sentenced Ali to 17 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He said: “You knew the dog was capable of being dangerous and you knew that the handling of that dog required responsible care.”
Judge Gilbart banned Ali from owning dogs for five years and ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
