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COURT TOO LATE TO SAVE DOG'S LIFE
(Cutting Herald Express (Torquay by Jan 7 2000)
A JUDGE has lifted a death sentence on a 'gentle giant' dog - but not in time to save its life.
Tyson the Doberman was given a suspended death sentence by magistrates after killing a rare pedigree cat at Ashburton.
But before a High Court appeal could be heard, the RSPCA had Tyson put down.
The RSPCA said they destroyed Tyson because they held out no hope of rehousing the huge Doberman-cross. Tyson's owner 21-year-old Laura French, of New House, Roborough Lane, Ashburton, was fined £200 by Teignbridge Magistrates last May and ordered to pay £300 compensation to the cat's owner and £143 costs.
Conviction Judge Ian McIntosh quashed her conviction at Exeter Crown Court yesterday, and set aside an updated figure of £1,440 in fines, costs and compensation.
The judge accepted that the original prosecution had been brought under the wrong section of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Mrs French was taken to court after Tyson leapt over a 4ft wall and savaged a neighbour's cat.
The cat, owned by Amanda Sutherland was a rare pedigree oriental black cat called Pashtan Diogenes. The pet was known as Fangs because of its distinctive visible front teeth. Mrs Sutherland was bitten as she tried to rescue her pet from the dog's jaws. Fangs was rushed to a local vet but died within a few minutes.
Mrs French had adopted Tyson from the RSPCA six weeks before the incident. The five-year-old dog was returned to the adoption centre following the attack. RSPCA spokesman Janet Kipling said Tyson had been put down because of the threat he posed to life and limb. She said: 'It's a very sad case. We were involved with this dog for a couple of years and rehomed him at least twice. 'We always knew he was a powerful and difficult dog, completely undisciplined, but felt that with the right owner he could be trained and might improve his behaviour. 'Tyson was sent back to us by the French family only a couple of days after the cat was hurt. 'We felt it would be irresponsible to rehome him again as it would be endangering the lives of other animals and possibly people. 'We wouldn't have wanted six months down the line to be faced with another cat being killed. 'It was a horrible decision to have to take, and not one we took lightly/cutting ends