Dog owner must pay £7.5k bill for attack

WHIPPET DIED AFTER BULLDOG MAULING

- By POPPY KENNEDY

A BELOVED dog tragically died days after being viciously attacked by an English Bulldog in Billingham.

Dad Ashley Selby was hauled before magistrates and ordered to pay £7,500 in vet bills after his dog Diesel seriously injured a whippet, named Nelson.

Teesside Magistrates' Court heard how the woman walking the pup was also injured as she tried to pry the attacking bulldog off a family member's adored pet during the incident in Pendle Crescent.

Selby, 52, denied being the owner or person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury but was found guilty at the trial he failed to attend earlier this year.

Selby claimed a young family member had taken Diesel for a walk without his knowledge on the day of the attack, four days after he had adopted the dog.

Describing the incident, prosecutor Lynne Dalton said: "In the distance [the injured woman] saw a young [person] walking what she perceived to be a bulldog. The dog looked quite strong and the young [person] looked like they were struggling to keep a hold of him."