A teenager who was in charge of an XL Bully that was shot dead by police after it attacked a man and his dog has been ordered to pay £750 compensation.
Tya Miller, 19, was responsible for Kilo when he savaged Norman Beaton and his 14-year old Border Collie, Drift, during a horror incident in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
She had agreed to care for the dog ahead of a ban on the breed coming into force in England.
An advert claimed Kilo was ‘incredibly’ strong and ‘one of the strongest’ XL Bullies the seller had ever seen.
The post added he was ‘young, strong and filled with testosterone’ and would ‘knock you off your feet if you are not careful’.
Miller and her sister had Kilo out on the lead but let Drift ‘have a sniff’ before the XL Bully lunged forward and sunk his teeth into his neck.
Horrified witnesses including Mr Beaton and Miller tried to stop the attack but were left with injuries before it ended.
At one point Miller shouted ‘someone needs to come and put this dog down’.
Mr Beaton and his beloved pet managed to flee the scene last February before armed officers arrived and shot Kilo dead.
Miller, of East Kilbride, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted being in charge of Kilo at the time of the incident.
Sheriff Louise Gallacher ordered her to pay compensation but said she was ‘satisfied’ the teenager did not have to be banned from owning dogs.
Depute fiscal Sinead Corrigan told the court: “The accused was part of a WhatsApp group chat where she met the owner of the XL Bully type dog.
“The accused then took possession of the dog and later she and her sister took the dog for a walk which was on a lead.
“They met a white border collie being walked off the lead and when they met Mr Beatson was heard to say to the accused’s sister ‘that’s a big dog’ while the accused said for them to have a sniff.
“The bully dog then lunged forwards and locked jaw with the border collie’s neck.
“Mr Beatson punched the XL Bully several times but was left with injuries to his right forearm and a laceration between his finger and thumb.
“The accused also attempted to strangle the bully dog and stuck her hand into its mouth in an attempt to free the border collie and she was also bitten
Georgia Temple, defending, said: “She acknowledges and takes full responsibility for the offence and expresses tremendous guilt for what happened when the dog was in her care.
“She cared for the dog for one week but a lack of information about the dog’s temperament had been given to her.”
Sheriff Gallacher said: “It seems to me that the culpability levels are relatively low given that you had the dog on a lead and also the temporary arrangement that you were working in and it is a fairly exceptional case.”
Legislation on XL Bully dogs came into force last year and it is an offence to own one without having an exemption certificate.
They must also be muzzled and on a lead in public while selling or exchanging them is banned.
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