Yorkshire terrier spared life after biting four people in Derbyshire
A FORMER animal sanctuary owner has been handed a suspended jail sentence after her Yorkshire terrier bit four people, including a police officer.
Jackie Whipp said she felt like "she was the one who had bitten the people" after magistrates imposed the eight-month suspended term in Derby.
But the 62-year-old expressed her relief that four-year-old Billy was given a stay of execution after the bench chose not to have him destroyed.
Speaking after sentencing, Mrs Whipp said: "I am not happy with the sentence at all, it makes it sound as though I am the one that bit the people, not Billy.
"Of course I don't condone what he did, but on each occasion when he did bite, people had left the front gate open and that allowed him to get out.
"He is not an aggressive dog, he loves people, we call him 'Billy Bonkers,' that is his nickname.
"The only thing I am happy about following this court appearance is that they have not ordered him to be put down."
Mrs Whipp, of Stratford Street, Ilkeston, ran Quackers Community Farm, in Bridge Street, Cotmanhay, until it closed in 2014.
The scheme saw her hand rear birds and keep animals such as Pollyanna, a young foal, until funding ran out and it was forced to shut.
Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court was told how Billy had previously bitten postmen and women to the point that Mrs Whipp had to collect her mail from a local sorting office.
Then, between July and November last year, the dog bit four people, including a female police officer and a police community support officer.
Peter Bettany, prosecuting, said: "On August 28, the police officer started walking down the driveway between the houses when the dog ran out of the house and bit her on the lower left shin breaking the skin.
"On September 1, a PCSO was walking down the street when the dog ran out and again bit her on the shin."
Mr Bettany said two other victims were bitten by Billy.
He said: "These were not light nips, they drew blood and one of the victims had to go to hospital for a tetanus jab."
He said Billy had twice before been made the subject of an order that meant he should be muzzled.
But Mrs Whipp, in interview with the police, said he could easily shake the muzzle off him when she put it on.
Mr Bettany said: "She was asked about the Royal Mail refusing to deliver to her house because Billy had bitten both a postman and a post woman and she said she now has to go to the sorting office every day."
Since the latest incidents Billy has left Mrs Whipp's home and is now living with a friend, Jeanette Bennett, in Godfrey Drive, Kirk Hallam.
Giving evidence, she told the court how she walks Billy every day and he has not bitten anyone or been aggressive towards people.
Miss Bennett, 57, said: "Billy is a good dog and a kind one and I am happy to have him in my home."
Peter Jones, for Mrs Whipp, said his client had paid £200 for an animal behaviour expert to assess Billy to determine why he had bitten people.
He said: "He concluded that Billy was not coping in the pack mentality that existed with the other dogs at the house."
Elizabeth Woolley, chair of the magistrates, handed Miss Whipp the eight-month sentence, suspended for a year and also ordered that she pay £100 compensation to each victim
She said: "If the dog had bitten a young child it could have been very serious.
"We are giving Billy another chance but he must remain residing with Miss Bennett, be kept on a lead and wear a muzzle at all time when out in public."