THE Princess Royal escaped with a £500 fine yesterday over her English bull terrier, Dotty, which bit two young boys in Windsor Great Park.
A district judge at East Berkshire Magistrates’ Court made clear that the three-year-old pet would be put down if there was a further offence. Dotty must now go everywhere in public on a lead and undergo extra training, but she will not have to be muzzled.
Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, courts can impose a penalty of up to six months’ jail, a £5,000 fine and destruction of the dog. Character witness submitted statements attesting that Dotty was just a big puppy without malice, and a leading dog psychologist entered the witness box to say that the animal’s problem was excitement at bicycles.
Besides the fine, the Princess was given seven days to pay £148 costs, and £250 compensation to each of the two victims, aged 7 and 12. After the hearing, the boys’ parents issued a statement condemning the leniency of the Slough court. “Our children have been psychologically affected and are fearful of going out on their own,” the statement said. “They have become very fearful of all dogs and still have nightmares. Our children were lucky that they avoided grievous injuries. Other children may not be so lucky.”
The Princess, 52, dressed in a maroon pleated skirt and blue jacket, arrived in the wood-panelled courtroom shortly before 10am accompanied by her husband, Commodore Timothy Laurence, 47, and her children, Peter, 25, and Zara, 21, who took a back seat as the Princess joined her lawyer, Hugo Keith, in the front row beneath the bench.
“Ma’am, may I ask you to stand, please?” the woman clerk of the court ventured. The defendant stood to confirm that she was Anne Elizabeth Alice Laurence, of Gatcombe Park, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire. When asked how she intended to plead, she answered “Guilty” and sat down.
The couple had been summoned jointly on an allegation that they had been in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control in a public place. The charge against Commodore Laurence was dropped.
The dog was not in court, but was referred to at first mention by its full name of Dorothy.
Anthony Smith, for the prosecution, said that the 12-year-old boy had been on a family cycle ride in Windsor Great Park on April 1 while the Princess and her husband walked three dogs. Dotty, who was not on a lead, ran to the boy from 150 yards away and jumped up at him on his cycle. The boy fell off. The dog then jumped at the seven-year-old boy, who also fell over. That boy’s father attempted to fight the dog and kick her, but she came back several times.
Commodore Laurence tried to catch the dog but she ran back to the Princess, who put her in the back of her vehicle with other dogs. She apologised for the dog’s behaviour and offered the boys and their father a lift to hospital. The couple were interviewed by police at their home.
“The Princess Royal felt that the dog had reacted to some noises made by the children,” Mr Smith said. Both boys were traumatised by the incident. The older boy had been bitten on the collarbone and had two bites on his left leg, both of which broke the skin. The younger boy had scratch marks on his back, right forearm and left leg.
Mr Keith, for the Princess, said that she had publicly acknowledged responsibility for the incident. Her first action, along with her husband, had been to apologise profusely to the parents, to help the children to load their bicycles, and to offer to take them for medical attention. The couple had been walking their dogs at a time of family bereavement, two days after the death of the Queen Mother.
That Dotty became dangerously out of control had been a great shock to her owner. The 1991 Act had been introduced because of concern at certain breeds, but this case was quite unlike notorious cases. Dotty was a happy domestic pet, “boisterous and energetic, but wholly lacking in malice”.
Photographs of the boys’ injuries had been shown to a dental surgeon, who identified that Dotty had used her incisors, normally employed in grooming and other gentle activities, and not her canines, which were for killing and tackling prey. “Dotty’s character is not an aggressive one, and she is not likely to be a danger to the public in future,” Mr Keith said. “She will improve with further training. According to her vet, she is well-mannered and well behaved.” Her action had been linked, not to aggression, but to “a high degree of playfulness”. She had “a high degree of interest in bicycles”.
Roger Mugford, a leading dog behaviourist who has dealt with aggression in the Queen’s corgis, went to Gatcombe Park for a two-hour psychiatric session with Dotty. He recreated the bicycle incident, riding round the garden making a lot of noise. The dog became excited, but when he repeated the experiment after firing off a canister of harmless gas to divert her attention, Dotty showed no further interest in bicycles. “She is an ideal candidate for straightforward behaviour therapy,” Dr Mugford said, suggesting a masterclass for dog and owner.
Mr Keith concluded with an appeal for Dotty not to be destroyed and reading out testimonials from friends who asserted how the dog was usually good with children.
District Judge Penelope Hewitt concluded that it would not be appropriate to put down Dotty. The dog had very experienced and responsible dog owners who would comply with any order she made. Mrs Hewitt looked down from the bench at the defendant sitting beneath her. “Would you mind standing up, please?” The Princess stood, hands behind her back.
“I intend to make the order that Dotty is kept under control, for the rest of her life really,” the judge said, specifying that she must be kept on a lead at all times in public places, and that she should have the extra training suggested by Dr Mugford.
In a clear indication that the death sentence had been merely suspended, however, she added: “The fact that there is always that risk that something could happen puts on you the responsibility that nothing does happen, because there is a contingent destruction order.
“If anything else does happen, I’m afraid she will be destroyed. But I don’t have any worries about that.”
