2 weeks Ago By David McPhee
A dog owner has been deemed not responsible and admonished after her “troubled” Staffie jumped a 10-foot fence and attacked a member of the public. Candida Burnett, 47, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where she admitted allowing her Staffordshire-cross rescue dog, Winston, to escape when it vaulted over a garden fence in the Mastrick area of Aberdeen. Winston also attacked two dogs, including sinking his teeth into the throat of a German Shepherd.
He then savaged the hand of the dog’s owner when she tried to stop the attack, causing a laceration to her wrist. Burnett – who was visibly upset in the dock – stated that she had taken on a “troubled dog” that she quickly realised was “outwith her experience” to deal with. Dog ran at dog and owner Fiscal depute Emma Evans told the court that as soon as Burnett had rehomed the dog from a charity in Elgin she had “struggled” with Winston, who barked incessantly and would lunge towards other dogs.
Burnett went back to the charity for assistance and was provided with a dog behaviourist. But, at around 7pm on June 6 2024, Winston escaped Burnett’s garden on Springhill Road, Aberdeen, and he then charged towards a woman and her female Staffordshire Bull Terrier, named Aria. The owner picked Aria up as Winston repeatedly jumped up and was trying to bite her legs, resulting in the woman kicking him, which saw him run off up the street.
The woman then saw Burnett arrive in a worried state and they spoke about the dog being lost. At around 8pm, another dog owner was walking her German Shepherd, Kolya, when Winston ran over and began trying to bite the dog. She repeatedly kicked Winston away, however, Winston then bit down on Kolya’s neck and dragged her over the road.
Second dog attack, this time on woman The first dog owner then heard a “horrific scream” and ran over to assist as Winston “continued his vicious attack”, the fiscal depute said. A passing driver then alighted from his car and assisted in pulling Winston away from Kolya, following which the owner of the first dog heard another scream and saw Winston bite Kolya’s owner’s right hand. The driver of the vehicle then ushered the victim – whose right hand was badly bleeding – into his car for safety, the fiscal depute said.
A dog warden was consulted about the situation, and they determined that Winston was “dangerous, out of control and should be destroyed”. Winston was destroyed a week after the incident. In the dock, Burnett pleaded guilty to one charge of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control where it attacked two dogs and bit the owner of one of them.
‘Quite a troubled dog’ Representing herself, Burnett, who was visibly upset in the dock, described Winston as “a bit reactive” and stated that he had been attacked by two other dogs prior to this incident. She described Winston as “a lot of work” and “quite a troubled dog” who had issues that were “outwith” her experience. Burnett also said that, on the day in question, Winston had managed to jump over her 10-foot fence and she hadn’t known the dog had escaped.
Wiping her eyes, Burnett apologised for crying, but said she was upset “because she can imagine how horrible it would have been” for those attacked by Winston. Sheriff Rory Bannerman told Burnett that he was “entirely satisfied” that she did what she could to cope with Winston and that although she had pleaded guilty he was satisfied that she “wasn’t aware the dog had escaped”. “I’m just going to admonish you because I do not believe you are responsible here,” he said.
He added: “I’m not undermining the poor people who witnessed this, but there’s no benefit to be gained by punishing you.”.
