Fine for man in charge of dog who savaged tiny family pet in Holytown

Lola’s elderly owner looked on in horror as the huge beast clamped its jaws around her beloved Maltese Yorkshire terrier cross.

Miraculously, Catherine McLean’s dog survived despite terrible injuries which included broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The pensioner was left with a vet’s bill for nearly £5,000.

Graham Gordon admitted being in charge of Hugo, a Presa Canario dog, when the incident happened outside Mrs McLean’s home in Keir Hardie Avenue, Holytown, on March 8 last year.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard Lola was playing in the front garden when the large dog jumped over the wall and chased her.

Gordon, 34, of Woodhall Avenue, Holytown, was fined £500 by Sheriff Allan McKay on Friday.

Since he was not the owner, the court had no power to have Hugo destroyed.

Re-living the attack, Mrs McLean said: “Lola tried to hide under a table, but the other dog caught her and had her in his mouth.

“I thought she was dead. She went limp and the dog dropped her.”

Aga Mathieson, prosecuting, told the court: “Hugo jumped over the wall and attacked and bit Lola, a small white fluffy dog.

“Lola ran away, but he chased her and attacked again.

“There was a lot of screaming as witnesses tried to help.

“Lola became lifeless and was removed from Hugo’s mouth.

“She was taken straight to the vet and it was discovered she had four broken ribs, a punctured lung and several puncture wounds.

“There was also damage to her right eye which she subsequently lost as a result of this attack.

“The vet’s bill was £4,800.”

Lola received lifesaving treatment in a Glasgow veterinary hospital where she spent four days.

The little dog, now four years old, appears to have made a full recovery.

Mrs McLean, who’s had Lola since she was a puppy, thanked friends and neighbours who responded to an online appeal and raised around £2,500 towards the cost of her treatment.

She added: “Everyone knows Lola. People stop to talk to her when they see her in the front garden.

“What happened to her was horrible to witness.

“It worries me to think of the damage that dog could have caused had it attacked a child walking home from school at that time.”

Gordon’s lawyer, Ian Scott, said there have been no other incidents involving the dog which “has not shown a propensity to attack persons”.