Dog savaged cat owner as she tried to save her pet
AWOMAN who tried to rescue her cat from the jaws of two outof-control dogs ended up in hospital after one of the animals turned on her.
Jackie Hicks was in her kitchen when she heard her beloved cat screeching in pain as two Staffordshire bull terriers tried to tear it apart on July 21 last year, a court heard.
As she rushed to try to prise her cat from their mouths, the larger of the dogs, named Molly, latched on to her arm and refused to let go.
Miss Hicks was only able to escape after neighbours stabbed the pure-bred dog in the gums with a screwdriver.
The two dogs, Storm and Molly, belonged to Gemma Hearne of Keene Avenue, Rogerstone, Newport.
They had run into her neighbour’s garden through holes in the broken fence which separated their back gardens.
Hearne appeared before Newport Crown Court yesterday charged with two counts of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control and, while out of control, injured Miss Hicks. She had pleaded guilty to both charges at an earlier hearing held at Newport Magistrates’ Court.
Hearne, who is entirely deaf, said she saw the commotion at around 4.30pm that afternoon, but was unable to hear exactly what was happening.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Miss Hicks described how she saw the two dogs trying to rip her cat apart. The younger dog, Storm, had one end of the cat clamped in his mouth while Molly had hold of the other end, she said.
Neighbours heard Miss Hicks’ cries and ran to the rescue, using a rake and a broom in an attempt to break up the two dogs and release Miss Hicks.
It took more than five minutes for
Miss Hicks to get to safety, during which time her left arm was bitten right through to the bone. She was treated at hospital with stitches and intravenous antibiotics.
Despite her “terrifying experiences”, Judge Richard Twomlow described Miss Hicks as “stoic” as she said she was trying to put her experiences behind her.
“The stoic nature of Miss Hicks is something to be applauded as a very rational response to a terrifying ordeal,” Judge Twomlow said.
William Bebb, for the prosecution, decsribed Miss Hicks’ cat as being in “a mess”, with lacerations everywhere and looking “visibly distressed”.
Karl Williams, defending, said Hearne, who has a 15-week-old daughter, was heavily pregnant at the time and had been unable to walk her dogs as much as she liked. Both dogs were removed from her property by Gwent Police on the day of the incident and have remained in police care ever since.
Hearne, who is unable to read and communicates using British Sign Language, had carried a “great deal of frustration” through to adulthood as a result of a difficult time at school, Mr Williams said.
Judge Twomlow addressed her in court through an interpreter and told her he would not be immediately sending her to prison. However, he adjourned the case in order to hear further information on whether the two dogs should be destroyed or whether Hearne should be handed a disqualification order preventing her from keeping dogs in the future.
The case was adjourned to February 21.