Dog savaged family pet to point of death before dying itself

The daytime attack by Philip Marley’s black lurcher in Wellands Lane, Whitburn, led to Jack Russell victim Ozzy being put down, a court was told.

But Marley’s previously peaceful animal almost immediately keeled over and died from a suspected medical condition which may have caused it to attack.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Marley, 55, of Cedar Grove, Whitburn, pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control on Friday, April 3, 2020.

But he escaped a dog-keeping ban due to his otherwise unblemished lifetime’s pet care record and being badly bitten by his own dog as he struggled to drag it away.

Prosecutor Emma O’Hegarty said: “The witness states that he was walking his dog in the Whitburn area, a Jack Russell named Ozzy.

“He walked to the corner of Wellands Lane when he heard a male shouting ‘stop’ and ‘no’. A large dog was off its leash.

“He picked up his dog to shield it from confrontation. The other dog ran towards him and tried to bite, and it grabbed the man’s hoodie.

“The dog grabbed Ozzy’s right leg and Ozzy was dragged onto the ground where he was savaged.

“Ozzy’s owner saw a man who tried to stop it, but Ozzy was badly injured, he was covered in blood and had to be put to sleep.

“The court may wish to stop the defendant having charge of a dog. The family would like the court to ensure compensation for the vet’s bills.”

David Forrester, defending, said Marley had owned his dog for a decade, and other canines throughout his life, all without incident.

He suggested the animal may have developed a blood condition that led it to act aggressively out of character.

Mr Forrester added: “He never had any problems with this dog. The dog was on a leash with a collar.

“The dog was having some kind of episode. He brought the dog back to him but as he did so, it slipped its collar off and it made a beeline.

“His dog, the lurcher, died, and we don’t know why. He had him back under control and the dog just flaked out.

“A post-mortem showed that it may have suffered some blood flow episode.

“There’s a lack of previous history of any instances like this and no aggravating features I can see. It’s an isolated incident.

“It was just a normal, law-abiding life until this happened.

“It appears his dog has had some kind of medical episode that caused it to act in a totally unforeseen way.”

Magistrates fined Marley £80 and ordered him to pay £100 compensation to Ozzy’s owner, with no court costs, and ruled against imposing a dog ban.