Victims left with lifelong wounds

In the last three years, just three dogs were put down following incidents.

However, that number is expected to rise as a result of a number of cases since March.

In August, a dog called Koos was ordered to be destroyed after biting an Aberdeen musician in the face, leaving him with lifelong scars.

When imposing sentence, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin said: “I have no choice but to order the destruction of Koos. It isn’t the dog’s fault.

“Who knows what it is about the dog’s experiences to date that has caused him to be the way he is?”

The same month, an Inverness schoolboy was taken to Raigmore Hospital and subsequently transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to be treated for serious facial injuries, after an alleged attack by a bullmastiff.

A 42-year-old woman has been reported to the procurator fiscal.