Pit bull-type dog from Ottery is spared by court

Buddy - is coming back (Image: Archant)

Buddy, a four-year-old crossbreed, was facing destruction as a dangerous dog but, on Monday, magistrates in Exeter decided to give him another chance.

The dog was seized from its owner Maxine Blackmore, 44, of Ferguson Close, in May, after the attack near the Land of Canaan park that left a six-month-old puppy dead.

Under the terms of an order, issued by the court, the dog must now be kept on a lead and muzzled at all times in public.

It has to be covered by third party insurance and has been microchipped and neutered.

Speaking outside the court, Maxine spoke of her joy at the decision. “It’s been so stressful and so horrible. I’m just relieved.

“He means the world to me. He’s my life, my baby. If it had gone the other way I don’t know what I would have done.”

She now has two months to comply. But she is hoping that Buddy could be back as early as next week.

The attack sparked outrage on social media at the time, which Maxine admitted had been hard to cope with.

“Of course it upset me but I didn’t retaliate. I call it the kangaroo court,” she said.

Police legal advisor, Oliver Joy, told the court that officers who examined Buddy found him ‘friendly and easily handled’ and there was ‘no sense of aggression’ towards other dogs.

Maxine told the court: “He’s normally fine. It was just the circumstances he was under. He is a lovely family dog.”

A friend had been walking the dog at the time of the attack and had let him off his lead.

The court was told the owner of Chewy, the shih tzu puppy that was killed, was not pushing for a destruction order.

Maxine said: “I’m thankful to the owner of the other dog for giving me another chance.”

Chewy’s owner, Angie Davis, told the Herald: “We didn’t want another dog to die.

“As long as they now take it seriously and only let him out with a lead and a muzzle, that’s fine.”

But she said her daughter Shannon, who was walking Chewy – named because of his resemblance to the Star Wars character Chewbacca – was still shaken by the incident. They have since bought another shih tzu dog. The new pet is white and called Princess Leia.