In April 2009 a woman was ordered to pay £500 compensation after her dog attacked a ten-year-old boy. Llandudno Magistrates Court heard that the boy had sustained lasting physical and psychological injuries in the attack.

28-year-old Jane Warburton’s Staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed escaped from her house in August 2008 and attacked the young boy, deeply wounding him on the arm. The child underwent over an hour of surgery for his injuries, at which the court chairman said he was “absolutely horrified,” (BBC News, 2009).

Ms Warburton was deeply upset by the event, which caused her months of stress and anxiety, the court heard. On the night of the attack, she had contacted the dog warden first and requested that her dog was put down.

Ms Warburton owned two dogs which had not caused trouble in the past, and was told to be more careful in controlling her remaining dog. “The bench considers that keeping a Staffordshire bull terrier in a community such as yours is a very dangerous thing,” Ms Warburton was told.

She pleaded guilty to allowing her dog to be out of control in a public place, but was not fined due to her limited means as a single mother of three.