A DOG owner has been fined £800 after their pet attacked a cat while off the lead – leaving the animal needing to have a leg amputated.
Tracey Leonard was walking her dogs on a field in St Saviour on the morning of 28 October when a pointer, named Red, bolted off and found its way into a neighbouring back garden.
Advocate Howard Tobias, prosecuting, told the Magistrate’s Court that the householder heard her cat scream.
“The cat was badly wounded to its left back leg,” Advocate Tobias said. “It had to have its leg amputated.”
Advocate Stephen Wauchope, defending, said Leonard was “a responsible dog owner” who trained her animals, and had immediately admitted the charge of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control.
The field was regularly used by dog owners with their animals let off their leads, he added.
Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke decided it was not necessary for Red to be muzzled but told Leonard she should keep the animal on a lead at all times.
He allowed her to pay the fine at the rate of £200 per month, but warned her that the cat’s owners may make a claim for compensation through the civil courts.
