Three German Shepherds launch 'pack attack' as woman left needing plastic surgery
A dog owner has been warned she could be jailed after her three German Shepherd cross dogs launched a savage attack on another woman in a public field.
Sarah Pike, 51, from Exeter, appeared before Exeter Magistrates' Court, where she admitted being the owner in charge of dogs dangerously out of control that caused injury. The attack happened at Exwick playing fields in December, and left the victim with multiple bite wounds to her hands and fingers. She later required plastic surgery. The prosecutor described it in court as a 'pack attack', telling magistrates that the three dogs - named Zac, Storm, and Nala - had acted together during the incident.
Pike also pleaded guilty to two additional charges of being in charge of dogs dangerously out of control on the same day. She was told she could face up to six months in custody.
Following the incident, the three dogs were seized by police, and two other dogs - previously in Pike's care - were euthanised after separate attacks on 'other dogs and humans', the court heard.
District Judge Angela Brereton told the hearing that an expert report would now be prepared to assess the temperament of the dogs. A destruction order may be made depending on the outcome. Pike is due to be sentenced in September.
Last month, a dog latched onto a woman's face in Liverpool and left her needing 20 stitches after what began as a seemingly innocent gesture on a night out. Mum Cody Davies had been out with a friend when she stopped to stroke a dog, which she described as a "pitbull type".
Within seconds, it jumped up and bit her in the face. The 31-year-old said she was left with "blood pouring" from the wound and that she was lucky not to lose her lip following the attack on Mathew Street at 1am on Sunday, June 29.
Cody, from Port Sunlight, was taken to Aintree Hospital from the city centre where she received 20 stitches to her face. Following the attack, the mum urged others to not approach dogs unless they're certain they are safe.
"I feel terrible and I feel so sad. I love my dogs and this dog was just playing with its owner in the street so I went over to stroke it," Cody told the Liverpool Echo.
"When I went over, the woman didn't say anything about not approaching them but when I did, it jumped up and bit my face. I was running around with my hands covering my face and blood pouring from my face.
"No taxis would take me because I was covered in blood and thankfully someone rang an ambulance for me."
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Daily Mirror
a day ago
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Daily Mirror
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Carer, 44, 'urged boy at kids' home to go missing so they could have night away'
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Daily Mirror
3 days ago
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Teenage boy 'caught in care worker's bed' as she gives brazen excuse
Lindy Leah, 44, from Warrington, is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage resident of a care home in St Helens where she was working as a deputy manager A care worker who allegedly "fell in love with" with a boy at the children's home where she worked claimed it was "completely normal" when he was found in her bed. Lindy Leah is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage resident of the care home in St Helens where she was employed as deputy manager. The 44-year-old was reported to have worn inappropriate and revealing outfits in his presence and allowed him to sleep in her bed, as well as apparently asking him "for a love bite". But she "denies any improper behaviour" and went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday. A jury of six men and six women heard this afternoon that Leah, from Orford, Warrington, was employed as deputy manager of the care home where the boy had been placed and was assigned as his key worker, reported the Liverpool Echo. Graham Pickavance said during the prosecution's opening: "The defendant, by her own admission, admitted that she fell in love with him. But the crown say that it was not simply parental love, but something that went far beyond that and was physical love." While the teenager "does not support the prosecution", colleagues described "inappropriate" behaviour from Leah, who wore a black dress in the dock with her blonde hair tied back in a bun, as well as "unprofessional interventions which prevented [the boy] from being challenged about his behaviour". He was also said to have been seen lying in her bed at the home "as if it was completely normal", with the defendant having apparently remarked of this: "He's comfortable. He always does that. No one else has a problem." A subsequent investigation by Merseyside Police similarly recovered video footage of the teenager asleep in her bed. Leah was meanwhile reported to have "worn skin tight and highly revealing clothing" in his presence, including a bodysuit with no underwear and a "highly visible thong". On one occasion, she was said to have pulled at her bodysuit at a time when her nipples were apparently "highly visible", which was supposedly accompanied by her saying "I've had a shower but forgot to bring clean knickers". The youth's mum also "grew more concerned" about the relationship between her son and Leah, who allegedly told the mother that the boy "had her wrapped around his little finger" and called him "gorgeous and handsome". Mr Pickavance added that a string of messages exchanged between the two also "painted a picture of a relationship far removed from a carer and child". In one, referring to a phone which had been confiscated from him, Leah told him: "I'll give it you on Wednesday for a love bite." When interviewed by detectives, she "denied any improper behaviour". But, having been released on bail under conditions not to contact the boy, the two were then spotted together weeks later beside a white Audi car at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington by a fellow care worker. Leah, who is represented by Rebecca Filletti, denies one count of being a person in a position of trust causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The trial, before Judge Brian Cummings KC, continues.
