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Date Published: 29/04/2022
ARCHIVED - Owners of six dogs that savagely mauled a Pinoso pensioner who later died are jailed
The couple who owned six 'dangerous' dogs in the Alicante town have been found guilty of manslaughter
A man and a woman who owned six 'dangerous' dogs that savagely mauled a 74-year-old pensioner in Pinoso who later died in 2016 have been jailed for two-and-a-half years each.
The couple were found guilty of manslaughter after it was proven that they "knew the risk posed by their animals" and that, despite this, "they did not take measures to prevent them from causing harm to third parties".
A judge at Alicante Criminal Court 7 in Alicante found Juan de Dios P.M., aged 40, and Sandra G.A., aged 28, guilty of causing the death of José Sellés Poveda this week.
The horrific fatal attack occurred on October 26 when the 74-year-old was walking with his wife in the village. The six dogs – alleged cross American Stanford/Boxers – had escaped from one of the owners' father's farm and pounced on the pensioner, biting and dragging him around and causing "series injuries" that led to his death at Elda Hospital a few days later.
The brutal incident was witnessed by José's wife, "who could not help him without running the risk of also being attacked by the dogs": The frenzied attack continued until another neighour and one of the owners managed to pull the dogs off the badly hurt victim.
Also read: 20 things pet owners are now prohibited from doing under the new Animal Protection Law in Spain
The Alicante judge concluded that the couple, who have now split up, were "fully aware" that the metal fence surrounding the property they lived in was "frequently cut and its tensioners tampered with" by unknown persons.
Nevertheless, they had a "negligent" attitude without taking any measures to "correct the situation and prevent the potentially dangerous dogs from being able to go outside and cause personal injury".
With regards to the dogs, whilst the alleged crossbreed of American Stanford and Boxer has not been sufficiently proven, the court found that they were "clearly heavily muscled and robust, athletic, with a bulky head, short hair and powerful jaws".
It also transpired that prior to the fatal attack, "they had shown signs of their aggressiveness and ferocity" and had almost attacked a neighbour a month earlier who was was forced to take refuge in a car.
And the court heard that it was "common" for them to "violently" attack the metal fence of the owners' property when anybody walked by, something the owners were aware of "but failed to muzzle or tie them up, amongst other possible security measures".
For these reasons, regardless of the breed, the judge ruled the dogs presented a "marked dangerousness and potential for injury" and also that, based on the testimony of the coroner, the serious bites caused the subsequent death of the victim from cardiorespiratory failure.
In addition to jail time for gross negligence manslaughter, the pair were also ordered to pay 100,000 euros to the deceased's widow, 20,400 euros to each of the victim's daughters and 10,449.37 euros to the Regional Ministry of Health for the costs of the victim's medical care.
Now read: Deafblind man refused entry to a Renfe bus to Lorca because he was travelling with his guide dog
Image (not the actual dogs): Pixabay
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