The parents of a three-month-old girl who was mauled to death by one of their husky dogs have been given suspended jail sentences.
A judge at Lincoln crown court on Monday said she had no doubt that Vince King, 55, and Karen Alcock, 41, wished every day that they could turn the clock back.
King and Alcock, who are now separated, had pleaded guilty to being in charge of an out-of-control dog.
The couple were racing 19 dogs in woods near Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire in March 2022 when the attack happened.
The court heard their baby Kyra was asleep in her pram when a female dog called Blizzard attacked her.
The dog, which will be put down, caused multiple head and neck injuries which proved fatal. Her parents performed CPR in an attempt to revive their daughter.
Judge Sjölin Knight said the death came about after a “tragic conjunction of circumstances”.
She said: “I have no doubt that both of you wish every day you could wind the clock back so that incident never happened.
“There was nothing to trigger [Blizzard’s] attack on Kyra, but on this occasion she was dangerously out of control.
“Dog ownership is a privilege and for many a pleasure, but it comes with a heavy burden under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
“[Blizzard] did an awful thing which neither of you expected and will weigh heavily upon you for the rest of your lives.
“I don’t believe that this incident was reasonably foreseeable but believe it was a momentary lapse of an otherwise good system. It is appropriate to suspend both sentences.”
Prosecutor Jeremy Janes told the court that the defendants were experienced dog owners and regularly raced the animals, which were used for sport in sledging teams, rather than being domestic pets.
King had raced dogs for 20 years after working in the military and also bred huskies.
Alcock, a veterinary nurse, had been with King since 2019 and accompanied him on the racing runs, with the pair working “as a team”, the court heard.
Kyra had been taken along for the runs from just five days old and was described by the judge as a “very much wanted and loved baby”.
King was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Alcock was given an eight-month sentence, also suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Siward James Moore, mitigating for King, said the incident was “abhorrent” and there had been a “momentary lapse” in the system used by the pair.
He said: “The events of that day for Mr King, and doubtless Miss Alcock, will have a profound, lifelong sense of loss for both of them.
“No punishment that this court can impose will equal that which they have already endured.”
