A mother-of-three showed “an incredible amount of stupidity” by allowing a “dangerous breed of dog” to attack a man on a mobility scooter and his pet, a magistrate said.
Skye Georgina James, 27, pleaded guilty in February to allowing her American Staffordshire terrier named Shadow to attack mobility scooter rider Shane Stein and his dog Scooby last January in the southeast Queensland town of Ipswich.
The court viewed CCTV footage showing Shadow’s black figure running into the street to attack Scooby, as Mr Stein, Ms James, her mother and other unidentified locals repeatedly tried to stop the vicious fight.
Skye Georgina James, 27, pleaded guilty in February to allowing her American Staffordshire terrier, named Shadow, to attack mobility scooter rider Shane Stein and his dog Scooby in the southeast Queensland town of Ipswich last January.
At one point, Mr. Stein was forced off his mobility scooter, while Ms. James, who was the third person on the scene, pulled and punched Shadow, but was unable to tear him away from the other dog.
Ultimately, with the help of even more local residents – one of them waving a garden hose – the animals are finally pulled apart.
As the footage was shown, Mrs James turned her head away in tears Courier mail reported.
Mr Stein suffered cuts to his arm and fingers that day, while Scooby suffered a stab wound to the chest.
Acting Magistrate Paul Byrne said the footage showed an ‘incredible display of incompetence’, with no one appearing to ‘hI have an idea what they were doing.”
Lawyer Chris O’Neill argued that Ms James was just doing her “incompetent best”. was a single mother who was expecting her third child at the time of the incident.
Mrs. James only had Shadow in her care when the previous owner could no longer care for the dog.
The dog, who had never shown such aggression, fled the house when MJames’ mother left the door ajar while she took out the trash cans.
Because Mrs James did not have the money to pay for the measures the council said were necessary to safely house Shadow, the animal had to be put down.
By fining Ms. James $4,000, along with additional fines for court costs, MMagistrate Byrne said she showed it ‘chronic negligence’ in bringing in a ‘renowned dangerous breed’ with young children.
“What I saw on the screen was terrifying, and you know it,” Mr Byrne told Ms James.
“This was something that had yet to happen… It was incredibly stupid that you took responsibility for that dog under all the circumstances.”
Acting Magistrate Paul Byrne said the footage showed an ‘incredible display of incompetence’, with no one ‘seeming to have a clue what they were doing’.
He also said that since Ms James had grown up with Staffies, she should have known how potentially dangerous they are.
The magistrate concluded that Mrs James had shown ‘foolish naivete’ but that this had resulted in ‘gross negligence’, even though there was no malicious intent.
Mr. Stein said The Queensland Times that he and Scooby have both recovered well since the attack.
“Thank you to all who contributed to Scooby’s well-being,” Mr. Stein said.
He said he was sorry to hear that Shadow had been put down, but that there needed to be stricter laws around dog attacks.