A British Bulldog owner has admitted his pet savaged the face of a 14-year-old girl after initially claiming it was ‘asleep’. Reuben Drummey pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.
But he added ‘I’m against the fact it was out of control – it was asleep in its bed’ at Willesden Magistrates Court on Thursday, March 21.
The 49-year-old from Ealing was interrupted by the legal advisor who told him to leave the dock and speak to his lawyer if he was unsure about his plea. After a conference with his defence counsel, Drummey returned and admitted the single count in relation to his Old Tyme British Bulldog, without any caveats. At the outset of the hearing, the same charge was dropped against Drummey’s partner.
Prosecutor Amy Gault told the court how Drummey was watching TV at his home, while the victim was standing in the hallway, at around 7pm on February 23. The victim got a text message, which caused her to accidently drop her phone on the floor. Then as she went to pick her phone up, she was attacked by the dog.
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“As she reached down she noticed the dog close to her face. As she got up the dog has lunged at her and bit the left side of her face,” Ms Gault told the court. “It then mounted her back with its paws and she had to elbow it to get him off. As she stood up she saw blood everywhere, and she saw her face in the mirror.”
Drummey rushed over to help the victim, while her friend called an ambulance which arrived and took her to hospital. The victim then had over three hours of surgery for her life-changing facial injury at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
The court was shown ‘gory’ photos of the victim’s face, with a large cut from her lip up her cheek, described as ‘quite severe’ by the prosecution. The court also saw more recent photos of a large facial scar where her skin had been sewn together by doctors.
‘All he heard was screaming’
Drummey’s defence lawyer said there was ‘nothing that could have been done on his part to prevent the incident taking place’. She also said her client told police ‘there was no provocation’ and ‘he intervened quite quickly’ by removing the dog and immediately tending to the victim’s injury.
“All he heard was screaming, which then led him to go into the hallway. He could not have foreseen this incident. This is a very unfortunate incident on a very young victim. But nothing out of the ordinary took place on that Friday afternoon,” she said.
With a jail term ‘still within the picture’, she called for a probation report to help the magistrates decide a proper sentence. She also said the defence will contest the 10-year banning order proposed by the prosecution who do not believe Drummey is a fit and proper owner.
The case was adjourned for an all-options probation report until April 18 with Drummey released on unconditional bail. The dog was rehomed, but has since been put to sleep.
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