Case against Coatbridge man accused of have 'out of control' dog thrown out

A man accused of allowing his dog to maul a five-year-old boy walked free from court after a sheriff threw out the case against him.

56 year-old James Paterson from Glasgow, was charged with allowing the Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Rocky to be dangerously out of control.

But on the second day of a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court ruled there was no case to answer against Mr Paterson.

The court heard earlier that the child suffered a facial wound after the incident in Mr Paterson's garden in Castlemilk, Glasgow, last July.

Prosecutors claimed the dog which was "dangerously out of control" and bit the boy on the face causing a wound running from his cheek to his nose.

He was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.

Defence lawyer Marisa Borland successfully argued that the police evidence against Mr Paterson was contradictory.

Mr Paterson denied that charge.

PC Callan Cuthbert said the boy, who had a wound that ran from his cheek to his nose, was clutching a blood-soaked towel to his face.

PC Cuthbert: “Mr Paterson told me the dog had been agitated because it was warm.

“He said the boy had been jumping on the dog’s back and he had told him a number of times to stop.

“The boy continued and the dog growled at him and bit him, lashed out and stood over him.”

The dog was then locked in the back garden.

Also attending at the house was PC Jamie Peacock, 30, "Everyone was in a state of distress - it was manic and chaos."

Jurors heard Mr Paterson was looking after the dog, which belonged to his daughter.