$500 penalty for dog out of control

Trial was averted in Summary Court this week when a man accepted responsibility for the actions of a dog although he is not its owner. 

Sheldon Minzett, 53, was fined $300 on Wednesday after entering his guilty plea. He had been accused of being in charge of a white pit bull “which was dangerously out of control in a public place” and, while out of control, injured a named complainant. 

The incident occurred on December. 9, 2012, on Manse Road in Bodden Town. 

Crown counsel Neil Kumar told Magistrate Philippa McFarlane Ebanks that the incident occurred while the complainant, an adult male, was riding his bicycle along Manse Road. As he approached a particular address, the dog came out of the yard and attacked him, grabbing on his left ankle. 

The man received four lacerations and attended George Town Hospital for treatment. Later he accompanied a police officer to the area and identified the dog. 

Minzett said he did not own the dog, but he had been looking after it because the owner was in prison. 

The complainant advised the court that his treatment had been paid for through his employment coverage. 

Defense attorney John Furniss saiid Minzett was sorry that the man had been injured. On the night before the incident, he explained, Minzett tied up the dog and then left. He did not know whether the dog got loose or if someone freed him. 

The magistrate ordered Minzett to pay the complainant $200 compensation in addition to the fine of $300.  

She also directed that if a suitable home cannot be found within six months, the dog is to be destroyed as provided in the Animals Law. The dog has been with the Agriculture Department since the incident.