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Condemned
dog’s appeal lodged
AN APPEAL against a destruction order handed on a Bull terrier
that bit a child in self-defence was formally lodged last week,
prior to the screening of a television documentary featuring
the dog’s case.
‘Rickson’, owned by Elizabeth Holland, has been languishing
in solitary confinement at Liverpool City Kennels since being
seized by police in March 2001. Until August of this year, Mrs
Wheeler was consistently refused permission to visit him by
the police officer in charge of the case, WPC Wheeler.
However, after intervention from the Fury Defence Fund –
which has assisted Mrs Holland in this case – a senior
police officer, Inspector Bacon overrode PC Wheeler’s edict
and granted permission for Mrs Holland to visit Rickson at the
city kennels.
New evidence relating to Rickson’s case has been gathered,
including an in-depth report by Animal Behaviourist Dr Roger
Mugford on Rickson’s temperament. Although leave to appeal
to the House of Lords was refused, leave to appeal to Liverpool
Crown Court was authorised and the appeal was duly lodged last
week.
Other key evidence relates to Mrs Holland’s health allegedly
caused by the stress of the dog’s seizure, together with
several points of order relating to the alleged mishandling
of the case by the police during the initial stages of interviewing
Mrs Holland and gathering evidence.
FDF official Janet Payne told OUR DOGS this week: "We are
hopeful that the court will take note of the new evidence we
have presented and will see fit to release Rickson. We have
also compiled a full dossier on this whole case and will be
referring this to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, who
have been very helpful since we made contact with them.
"Of course it would be wrong to get Elizabeth’s hopes
up too much at this stage, but we are hopeful that justice will
eventually be done."
* Rickson’s case forms part of the TV Documentary ‘Pet
Hates’, which was due to be screened on Thursday of this
week (7th November) at 9pm on BBC1.
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