Readers will remember an article that we ran on a dog that attacked a 5-year-old girl, causing face injuries – the trial has come up.

An American Staffordshire Terrier attacked the child in the Parque Tico Medina in the city of Granada on the 5th of May, 2021. The girl was bitten in the face and on the arm and despite undergoing surgical operations, she still bears physical scars and we can only guess at the mental ones now aged seven.

The owner has received a 6-month prison sentence, which is automatically a suspended one as it is inferior to two years. He also has to pay compensation to cover hospital costs, etc. As he accepted the court findings, there will be no appeal.

Curiously, the case was going to be shelved as the legal classification for  ‘dog bites’ was eliminated from the Law Code in 2015, but the victim’s lawyer appealed against this decision saying that the case actually dealt with “gross negligence” on the part of the dog owner and thus had it reopened.

The gross negligence was down to the animal, classified as a dangerous breed, was not properly registered, which is a legal requirement, it did not have its anti-rabies injection and was off the lead without a muzzle. Furthermore, for this breed and ones like it, you have to have civil responsibility insurance.

The victim, after she came out of the ICU spent a total of 250 days hospitalised, where she also received pyschological therapy.

Lastly, the dog owner has to make monthly payments to cover the indemnity but if he fails even on one month to make the payment, he will serve the rest of the sentence in jail.

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia – Photo: An American Stafforshire Terrier).