A dog owner blamed his Staffordshire bull terrier’s hormones after it attacked a Chihuahua called Lilly in a Brighton park.
Reuben Scott-Samuels, 30, said that the bull terrier, one of two which were involved in the savaging, had just had puppies and was being defensive.
Emma Furnell, a mother from Hollingdean, was walking Lilly as she took her son to school when the attack happened.
The Chihuahua cross Jack Russell was left with broken ribs and flesh wounds after the attack in Saunders Park in Hollingdean.
Scott-Samuels’s “hormonal” excuse failed to convince Brighton magistrates yesterday (Thursday 14 April).
They convicted him of failing to keep his dogs under proper control.
He accepted that the dogs, Foe and Juda, should have been on leads.
Brighton Magistrates’ Court made control orders instructing him to muzzle both dogs and keep them on a lead when they are outside his home in Saunders Park View.
He must also have both dogs neutered by the end of June.
Brighton and Hove City Council brought the case under the Dogs Act 1871 after Scott-Samuels refused to listen to advice about muzzling.
Maggi Hollands, an animal welfare officer for the council, said: “We advised Mr Scott-Samuels that he should muzzle the dogs while they were out.
“But he did not think that was appropriate.
“We were left with no other option but court action to protect the public from further incidents.”
The court ordered Scott-Samuels to pay £250 towards the legal costs of the case.
