A vet dropping off medication at a horse yard was bitten by a guard dog, a court heard.
The animal doctor, Emily Blackwell, suffered a puncture wound and bruise to her right leg after the German Shepherd jumped up and pinned her against her car as she got out.
The owner, Amy Derber, rushed out and got the dog under control and took it inside, Liverpool Magistrates Court heard.
When police later attended at the premises in Eccles Plantation, Warrington Road, Bold Heath, near Warrington, Derber explained that “she kept the dog in the barn and only released it in the evening to protect the horses in the field,” said Alex Farrow, prosecuting.
She added that she did not know the vet would be there, he said.
Derber, 34, of Willow Park, Eccleston Plantation, pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control on November 17 last year which injured the vet.
Jim Smith, defending, said that the defendant has no previous convictions and she could not have foreseen the incident and quickly got the dog back under control.
He explained it is a 50 acre working farm with 45 horses and she employs various workers. “The dog is normally kept in the stable. It is not a pet, it’s a deterrence dog which makes a loud noise when there are trespassers.”
Mr Smith said that there had been a number of trespass incidents which was why she had the dog. “It is ironic that it barked at intruders and never attacked them. She deeply regrets that this incident happened.”
When she let the dog out in the dark at 4.45 pm she believed the vet had already been and dropped off the medication. Since then she has installed an electronic entry gate and improved the perimeter fencing.
The magistrates said that they were satisfied that “she is a fit and proper person to have control of the animal and it does not constitute a risk to public safety.”
They imposed a contingency destruction order meaning that the Alsation must be muzzled and on a lead and kept inside when visitors attend. They fined Derber £500 and ordered her to pay £150 compensation and £320 costs.
