A FELTHAM man whose dog injured a six-year-old girl has been told the animal will be destroyed if it is seen in public without a muzzle.
Kim Domingues, 45, of Nene Gardens, appeared before Richmond Magistrates' Court on Monday (November 14) and admitted a charge of being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control in a public place.
The incident happened on October 13, this year, at Heathfield Park in Whitton, when Domingues' dog Alfie, injured the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The girl was one of 20 children visiting the park from an after-school club. The group was being supervised by three teachers, one of whom noticed that six of the children were stroking the dog.
The court was told, the dog, a two-year-old Rotweiller-Staffordshire Terrier cross, appeared calm and the as the children returned to the main group, one girl approached the dog for a second time.
Melanie Hardwick, prosecuting, said: "One girl returned and as she stretched her hand out to pat the dog, it barked and jumped up, causing the girl to stumble backwards.
"The teacher went to the girl and found she had an injury to her face around the mouth area."
The court was told, the girl had required plastic surgery to her lip and that only time would tell if she would be scarred for life.
Domingues, an unemployed driver, then left the scene and was only identified after a member of the public picked up a can of lager he had been drinking from at the time of the incident.
Police identified him using DNA on the can and arrested him at his home on November 3, when the dog was also seized.
Susan Keppe, defending, said leaving the scene was the only appropriate action Domingues could have taken as approaching the group with the dog would have only upset the victim further.
She added: "It was the first time the dog has caused an injury. It is a lovely, warm, little bit excitable, happy dog. All the children in the street where he lives know the dog and know him as an amiable sort of animal."
Mrs Keppe also said the injury was probably caused when one of the dog's teeth accidently caught the girl, rather than it intentionally biting her.
She said: "Because of the size and weight of the dog it could have been a more serious injury, if it had bitten her."
Magistrates handed Domingues a one-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £100 compensation to the victim and £50 towards court costs.
The court also issued a contingent destruction order, which requires the dog to be on a lead and muzzled at all times when in public or it will be seized by police and destroyed.
