Postman thought he would die as dog dragged him to the ground

A postman thought he was going to die when a dog chased him down and dragged him to the ground, a court heard. Postman Steven McKay was attacked by a Belgian shepherd in September last year, the court was told.

Owner Joseph Blaney, 37, begged him not to call the police, offered him cannabis to calm down and said he would kill the dog himself. Blaney appeared in court this week and pleaded guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury.

The court heard Mr McKay had been assigned a route in Wavertree. When he approached the property at around 1pm, he could see the dog, Mally, standing in the front garden with his paws up on the fence.

Prosecutor David Polglase said: “Mr McKay stopped in the road and gave a male on the pavement the post that he was to deliver so that he didn’t have to approach the property. Mally was ‘going ballistic’, barking, going mad and marching up and down the area.”

Blaney’s father’s Jack Russell then came out of the garden and attacked Mr McKay, who kicked the animal away and tried to use his mail bag as a barrier. As he did so, Mally jumped the 3ft fence and ran towards him, reports The Echo.

Mr McKay ran away and jumped onto a car bonnet as Mally chased him and “clamped down” on his left buttock. Mr Polglase said: “He felt a pain that he had never felt before he tried to grab Mally’s mouth as the dog tried to drag him off the car. He describes the dog as ‘ragging’ him as he dragged him to the ground.”

The court heard, the dog continued to try to bite Mr McKay’s back, neck and face before being wrestled to the ground by his owner, Joseph Blaney. He tried to convince Mr McKay to keep quiet about the incident and offered him money, but the postman declined and reported what had happened to his work and the police.

The attack resulted in Royal Mail suspending postal deliveries to Ash Vale, leaving residents without mail for almost six months. The suspension is believed to have impacted more than 25 properties on the road, with more people affected, including Alder Hey hospital patients and a 70-year-old waiting for cancer test results.

Charles Lander, defending, said the attack was “an isolated incident” and there had been no previous incidents involving the dog. He said Blaney had shown “clear remorse” for what happened.

Judge Kate Cornell said: (Mr McKay) has been traumatised by this incident. He’s now worried and anxious around other dogs, including his own. He’s had sleepless nights and nightmares. This must have been an awful experience for him, during which he genuinely believed he might die.”

However, she accepted the attack was an “isolated incident”, and so did not order an immediate destruction order. She instead made a contingent destruction order, setting out strict rules for Mally’s care in the future, warning Blaney: “The dog will be destroyed if you do not keep it under control.”

She said: “The expert says you’re capable of being a responsible dog owner. You have taken steps to ensure he’s not unsupervised in the future and have taken on advice about keeping Mally safe and secure.

“The expert concludes the dog is not dangerous per se, but was roused to this behaviour due to the Jack Russell which it perceived to be under attack by Mr McKay.”

She sentenced Blaney, of Woodhead Road in Birkenhead, to a 12 month community order, 200 hours of unpaid work, and a three month curfew. He was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to Mr McKay.

Mally must be kept muzzled and on a double control lead attached to a body harness at all times in public spaces, and must not be left alone with children under 16. It must be kept secure indoors and kept away from other dogs in the future.

The judge said: “I accept this was an isolated incident but it had awful consequences. You must keep Mally under strict control We all know the damage dogs can cause so make sure this doesn’t happen again.”