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Gemma Fisher jointly owned the Staffordshire bull terrier French bulldog cross called Callie with her son, heard Skipton Magistrates Court today (Tuesday).
Over the space of three months last summer, Callie bit a postman, a BT worker and a refuse collector at Greenroyd Mills, Sutton-in-Craven, near Keighley.
The dog was seized by police after the third attack and taken into kennels where it has been ever since at a cost of £26 per day, racking up a bill of £4, 146 at the time of Fisher’s court appearance.
Fisher, 41, of previous good character, pleaded guilty to three charges of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury. In court, Fisher, who has been visiting Callie in kennels, agreed to signing over ownership of the dog to police, meaning it can potentially be rehomed or destroyed.
The court heard all three victims had been injured and two reported going to Airedale General Hospital where they had been treated, given tetanus jabs and antibiotics.
The three men all said how the owner was not in control of the dog.
Prosecuting, Alison Whiteley said how on June 6 last year a postman had gone to Fisher’s home in Greenroyd Mill to deliver a parcel. The dog got past Fisher, was barking and growling and clamped its jaws on his leg.
Fisher called for her son who came out of the house and grabbed the dog by its collar and took it back inside, said Ms Whiteley.
On July 23, a BT engineer who was carrying out work for Openreach in the area was clearing up for the day when the dog attacked him twice, biting him on a leg and thigh.
The man said there had been apologies from the owner at the time, but he had felt them insincere. He had been shocked to see the dog’s teeth had got through his thick working trousers and there was blood pouring down his leg, said Ms Whiteley.
He had been treated at Airedale Hospital and had reported it to the police because he feared the dog might bite a child.
On August 5, a refuse collector was moving bins when he was attacked by the dog and bitten on the back of one of his legs. He used a wheelie bin to shield himself from the dog and went to hospital where he was told the injury could not be stitched because of its position behind his knee.
The court heard in mitigation that Fisher, a carer to her three children all with autism, had taken steps to control the dog including the use of baby gates to stop it getting out, a crate to put it in, a muzzle and a special collar designed to calm it down.
She got the dog when it was a puppy and it had become more aggressive after it came into season for the first time, the court heard.
She knew she could not have the dog back, and had no intention of getting another one.
Magistrates adjourned sentencing to Harrogate Magistrates Court on March 27 for an all options pre-sentence report.
