Postman attacked by dog ‘thought he might die’ as he was dragged to the ground

A postman ‘genuinely thought he might die’ as he was dragged to the ground during a vicious dog attack. The dog’s owner then begged postman Steven McKay not to call the police after he was chased and bitten by the Belgian shepherd, a court heard.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that owner Joseph Blaney, 37, offered Mr McKay a joint ‘to calm down’ and told him he would kill the dog himself, so he didn’t have to report the incident. Blaney appeared in court on Friday and pleaded guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury.

The court heard that Mr McKay was delivering along an unfamiliar route in Wavertree in Liverpool on September 10, 2022, but was aware of warnings in the area about an aggressive Jack Russell, owned by Blaney’s father. When he approached the property, he could see Belgian shepherd Mally standing in the front garden with his paws up on the fence.

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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, the LiverpoolEcho reports.

Mr McKay ran away and jumped onto a car bonnet as Mally chased him and ‘clamped down’ on his left buttock. “He felt a pain that he had never felt before,” said Mr Polglase. “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, 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 the victim had been traumatised by the attack and said: “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 and warning the defendant: “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.”

Blaney, of Woodhead Road, Birkenhead, was sentenced to a 12 month community order, 200 hours of unpaid work and a three-month curfew. He was also ordered to pay £500 in 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. The dog must be kept secure indoors and away from other dogs in the future.

The judge added: “We all know the damage dogs can cause so make sure this doesn’t happen again.”