Dog injured girl, 9, in 'terrifying' attack during family walk

Two parents were enjoying a family walk with their two daughters along a footpath in Piddlehinton on June 21, 2020 when a Doberman dog without a lead or muzzle suddenly appeared around the corner of the footpath before turning around.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how the Doberman, which William Lee Barker was in charge of, reappeared and ran towards the family as the dad attempted to scare it away.

Prosecutor Lucie Taylor said: “The dog ran towards the entire family. The dad stood and started shouting and clapping at it in an attempt to scare away the dog.

“The dog was not fazed and went after the nine-year-old girl and bit at her back. The parents tried to kick the dog and the dog continued to pursue the girl.

Bournemouth Crown Court

“Mr Barker appeared around the corner, approached the family and grabbed the Doberman by the collar. He apologised to the family.”

There were ‘slight puncture wounds’ to the girl’s upper body and bruising to her shin. She was taken to Dorset County Hospital for treatment.

A victim impact statement from the family heard how they were ‘terrified’ during the incident and that the victim’s mother felt ‘guilty’ at not being able to protect her daughter.

It added: ‘The children are terrified of dogs and the family is affected as a result."

During police interview, Barker, aged 28, confirmed the Doberman belonged to his father and he was walking the pet with his father’s friend.

• READ MORE - Man sexually assaulted children in attacks spanning almost 30 years 
• READ MORE - Driver engaged in drunken police chase on A31 

Barker noted the dog suddenly ran off and heard ‘shouting and screaming’ and he ‘did not know why he did what he did’.

Barker of Greenhill in Weymouth, pleaded guilty of being the owner or person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.

The court heard how the Doberman was rehomed to a dog charity in Essex and enquires were made to assess whether it should be destroyed under a court destruction order.

Robert Griffiths, defending, noted that it was the first time the dog had ever attacked a person and said that Barker got it ‘under control very quickly even though it wasn’t on the lead’.

He added that Barker, who initially pleaded not guilty but changed to a guilty plea, has shown remorse for what happened and does not currently own a dog.

The dog attack happened in Piddlehinton, near Dorchester. Picture: Google

Mr Griffiths said: “He now concedes he was there walking the dog and has to accept responsibility. With the benefit of hindsight, you can say dogs should always be on the lead.

“He has no explanation of why he behaved in an out-of-character way.”

Recorder Hannah Willcocks said the family ‘had not done anything to provoke the dog’ and Barker should have kept the Doberman on a lead.

She said: “The daughter was bitten or badly scratched and thankfully it wasn’t more serious, but it was pure luck it seems.

“The victim impact statement shares how the mother was terrified and felt guilty she could not protect her daughter.”

Barker was issued a 12-month community order to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work, disqualified from owning a dog for two years and ordered to pay £100 compensation and £95 victim surcharge.

A separate court hearing on Friday, December 3 will assess whether the Doberman should be destroyed.