Hampstead Woman Admits Dog Out Of Control

By Simon__Lee | Sunday, August 08, 2010, 16:28

Ham&High reported this week about Valiria Fettuccia who admitted to being in control of a dangerous and out of control dog.

The dog in question was a Rottweiler-mix

Last August, Mrs Fettuccia was walking her dog on Hampstead Heath when she lost control of him and he attacked another woman, Cheryl Cagrola. The woman's dog also suffered severe injuries.

Mrs Fettuccia appeared in court on Thursday and was found guilty of being in possession of an out of control dog. The dog itself is currently being held by police in kennels and it's future is due to be considered.

Rottweilers have a bad name, but of course one generalisation can't apply to all examples. According to the family, there have never been any incidents like this before involving this animal and he is a beloved member of the family.

The subject of dangerous dogs has come up a lot on Hampstead People, unsurprisingly considering we live next to the dog magnet that is the Heath. People have suggested many things to prevent incidents like this, such as dog licenses and micro-chipping, but in situations like this, it would be difficult to prevent. This, it seems, was a freak twist in character from a dog who was micro-chipped and had all the documentation such an animal would require. There are some things that just can't be prevented.

Photo courtesy of arne.list

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Comments

According to the report this dog WAS on a lead and the dog it attacked wasn't, which appears to have been the reason it became aggressive. (I have seen this many times - dogs ON leads feel at a disadvantage.) The defence lawyer is quoted as saying that he was hoping the dog could be castrated OR given training. This was a five year-old uncastrated dog on a lead watching other well-socialised dogs having a great time. It's rather late for castration as the chances are a behaviour pattern has been established but it would lessen the chances of attack from another uncastrated dog. Certainly re-training and socialising with other dogs would be essential.

By theid at 18:59 on 25/08/10
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I completely agree theid. Owners should be aware of how their dogs act around other people and animals and if they know that they're likely to attack, they shouldn't let them off of the lead...

By Jesse_Custer at 08:46 on 25/08/10
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As Richard Gentry of the Heath Constabulary said: "This is not a big problem". Thank heavens! Unfortunately the fact that a dog is micro-chipped doesn't indicate it has a calm temperament, merely that the owners take some responsibility for its behaviour, as is the case here. Breed is no guide to personality, and small breeds are not averse to attacking people and dogs, as the following scientific paper shows:

http://tinyurl.com/5mnl8r

By theid at 08:27 on 23/08/10
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