A dog will be destroyed and its owner fined $6000 after it attacked a woman on a Wollongong street and left her in need of skin grafts.
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Benjamin Whalley, 42, faced Wollongong Local Court on Friday, charged with being the owner of a dog that attacked a person and failing to prevent a dog escaping.
The matter was due to go to hearing but Whalley entered a last-minute plea of guilty on both offences.
On the afternoon of October 14, 2019 the victim was walking home after grocery shopping, pulling a handheld trolley.
As she walked on the footpath on Beach Street, near the intersection with Kembla Street, she saw a dog walking towards her.
About two metres from her it let out a deep-throated growl before it leapt at her and latched onto her lower left leg.
It began shaking her leg, growling, until she screamed.
At that point it let go and ran off towards the open gate of a nearby home.
The victim recalled seeing a large wound on her lower leg with pieces of flesh hanging from it.
A woman who was nearby heard the victim yelling for help and went to her aid.
The witness described seeing a large gaping wound on the victim's leg, which horrified her.
She later rang the number on signage at the property where the dog had fled to and spoke to a man, then reported the incident to police and the council.
Meanwhile, a man working on a nearby building site heard the victim scream and also ran to assist, staying with her until someone else arrived and took her away.
The female witness had already had a worrying encounter with the same dog shortly before the attack; she had seen the dog on the tray of a ute and it had become aggressive towards her.
Council rangers attended the scene that afternoon and found the gate of the property in question was closed, but when they called out a dog began barking loudly and aggressively before rushing to the gate.
Whalley came out and spoke to them, before they requested to scan the dog's microchip, an American Staffordshire terrier named Thurston.
However, Whalley had to scan the chip because of Thurston's aggressive behaviour.
The rangers then visited the victim at hospital, who told them she was advised she would need reconstructive surgery.
In court on Friday, Whalley's lawyer Daryl Quirk asked the magistrate to take into account the fact that his client had agreed to pay council costs of $7500.
The court heard a matter regarding compensation and damages was due to begin in the District Court in the coming week.
On the day of the attack, Mr Quirk said, Whalley left for work and was unaware the gate was unlocked.
Magistrate Chris McRobert said he had no doubt, having seen a photograph of the victim's injury, that it was significant and would have been traumatic for her.
Magistrate McRobert convicted Whalley and fined him a total of $6000, and ordered he pay $7500 in professional costs.
He also ordered that Whalley present the dog for destruction within seven days.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
