Owner in Brighton court after her dog attacked a donkey

9:20am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News

A dog had to be punched five times before he let go of a donkey he had locked his jaws around in a terrifying attack.

The Staffordshire bull terrier had to be separated by his owners after biting the face of the donkey in Easthill Park, Portslade.

A magistrate has now ordered the four-year-old dog, named Winston, must be muzzled at all times when taken outside the home of his owner.

A breach of the order could lead to the dog being put down.

The terrifying attack happened when Winston’s owner Sally Woodcock, of Wanderdown Road in Ovingdean, took him and two other dogs for a walk in Easthill Park.

As Miss Woodcock was picking up dog mess from one of her other pets, Winston jumped over a short wall in the park into a field containing Libby, a 48-year-old donkey.

Miss Woodcock speaking in court claimed the donkey then kicked Winston which provoked him to jump up and bite the face of the donkey.

The dog maintained a grip on the donkey’s face despite the animal’s best efforts to shake it off.

Lacerations

Eventually a man who was with Miss Woodcock was able to hit the dog hard enough to free the donkey.

The donkey’s owner then had to fetch a lead from her stables because the owner didn’t seem to have one.

Libby suffered bite marks to her muzzle and chin and lacerations to her left cheek.

Miss Woodcock, 32, admitted failing to keeping her dog under control.

She said: “He’s never done anything like this before.”

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Comments(29)

NickBrt says...
9:38am Tue 19 Mar 13

Maybe Miss Woodcock needs muzzling too.

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Crystal Ball says...
10:03am Tue 19 Mar 13

Poor Libby the donkey, I hope she recovers from the trauma.

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John Steed says...
10:30am Tue 19 Mar 13

"the owner did not appear to have a lead" says it all pity the donkey didnt kick miss woodcock, might make her see sense

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chrisso says...
11:06am Tue 19 Mar 13

Is it just coincidence that so many of these type of incidents seem to involve bull-terriers?

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Plunge says...
12:42pm Tue 19 Mar 13

So, according to the dogs owner the donkey started it.......hmmm.

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whereisthe...? says...
1:20pm Tue 19 Mar 13

What a lovely 'woman' she must be

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P.Dant says...
1:44pm Tue 19 Mar 13

In conclusion : if the police arrested everybody with bull terriers,they`d clear up a lot of crime and reduce the numbers these sort of incidents.

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deanaprior says...
1:45pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Bull Terriers were breed to attack other animals.
The owners of Bull Terriers have been breed to say. " he's never done that before" and have lightening reactions so they can instantly blame the victim.

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FC says...
2:49pm Tue 19 Mar 13

P.Dant wrote:
In conclusion : if the police arrested everybody with bull terriers,they`d clear up a lot of crime and reduce the numbers these sort of incidents.
Are you retarded? Yeah, you're retarded.

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wippasnapper says...
3:03pm Tue 19 Mar 13

“Miss Woodcock claimed the donkey kicked Winston which provoked him to jump up and bite the face of the donkey” didn’t Miss Woodcock think to herself that Libby the donkey was defending herself because Libby felt threatened by Winston the dog you would have thought Miss Woodcock would have the commonsense and decency to MUZZLE Winston and keep him on a lead ALL DOGS that have tendency’s to BIGHT & FIGHT wile out walking SHOULD BE MUZZLED & KEPT ON A LEAD! Miss Woodcock stated “He had never done anything like this before.” No really well maybe he had never jumped over a well & thought ill harass that donkey before Well maybe its time for you Miss Woodcock to MUZZLED & KEEP Winston on a LEAD & I think the owner of Libby the donkey should had over the vets bill to you should give you something to think about when out walking your dogs.

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chrisso says...
3:13pm Tue 19 Mar 13

FC wrote:
P.Dant wrote: In conclusion : if the police arrested everybody with bull terriers,they`d clear up a lot of crime and reduce the numbers these sort of incidents.
Are you retarded? Yeah, you're retarded.
No, he's about right.

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tenerifeisland says...
3:38pm Tue 19 Mar 13

sounds a cracker,these dogs should all be put down! viscious ugly things,no doubt like its owner

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FC says...
5:33pm Tue 19 Mar 13

chrisso wrote:
FC wrote:
P.Dant wrote: In conclusion : if the police arrested everybody with bull terriers,they`d clear up a lot of crime and reduce the numbers these sort of incidents.
Are you retarded? Yeah, you're retarded.
No, he's about right.
Of course. Tell you what, lets arrest people on motorbikes JUST IN CASE they're Hells Angels! Or maybe you'd like to arrest all black people just in case they have a knife? Maybe you could arrest every man JUST IN CASE they might one day rape a woman!

You're an idiot. Grow up.

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Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit says...
6:18pm Tue 19 Mar 13

A Staffie. And as per usual we get the "He's never done anything like this before, he wouldn't hurt a fly, don't know what came over him etc etc" Stupid dogs for stupid people. (Speaks a cocker spaniel owner)

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lillylou says...
9:04pm Tue 19 Mar 13

This Is typical of staff owners "I'm hard me got a staff " the dog has to be put down next it will be a child walking the new pup ! How dare she put an animal or a human through this , or are we gonna become like USA staff attacks every hour , I love dogs but am sick of statues dogs running the parks !!!

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lillylou says...
9:08pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Get a normal dog instead Of the hard act your not hard hiding behind a dog if that donkey dies after 48 years the owner of I'm a hard nut staff owner should suffer in prison HOW DARE YOU do this you scum !!!

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Arthatsme says...
9:33pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Thank you for your support, I'm the owner of Libby and she is not a donkey she is a pony. Libby's home is theThe Retreat Horse Rescue she came to us having had a really bad life, so all she wants now is a peaceful
time and not a dog jumping the wall and attacking her. She never kicked the dog, she never had time it locked on to her face and kept dragging
her to the ground. A lot of the facts in this story are incorrect plus we were left with a very poorly pony and a very large vets bill. Annie

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plantwoman says...
10:34am Wed 20 Mar 13

Arthatsme wrote:
Thank you for your support, I'm the owner of Libby and she is not a donkey she is a pony. Libby's home is theThe Retreat Horse Rescue she came to us having had a really bad life, so all she wants now is a peaceful
time and not a dog jumping the wall and attacking her. She never kicked the dog, she never had time it locked on to her face and kept dragging
her to the ground. A lot of the facts in this story are incorrect plus we were left with a very poorly pony and a very large vets bill. Annie
I do wish the Argus would get their facts right!
I hope Libby is OK, it's a really awful story.
Terriers are born to kill, that's what they do, it's in the genes. Stands to reason that if you own a terrier, you should be more aware of it's capabilities and KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL!!!

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Juleyanne says...
10:34am Wed 20 Mar 13

They all use the pathetic excuse 'he's never done it before'! Well, the sensible thing to do is 'prevention', use a lead (minimum requirement) especially around other animals and strangers/children! Know your dog before you let him or her off the lead!
I am a dog lover, most owners are responsible and take basic precautions but others are so clueless and irresponsible they put everyone else and their animals in jeopardy and ultimately their own dog should an incident occur! With the lambing season upon us, please keep your dogs on leads around livestock, it's common sense!

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Crystal Ball says...
11:01am Wed 20 Mar 13

Arthatsme wrote:
Thank you for your support, I'm the owner of Libby and she is not a donkey she is a pony. Libby's home is theThe Retreat Horse Rescue she came to us having had a really bad life, so all she wants now is a peaceful
time and not a dog jumping the wall and attacking her. She never kicked the dog, she never had time it locked on to her face and kept dragging
her to the ground. A lot of the facts in this story are incorrect plus we were left with a very poorly pony and a very large vets bill. Annie
I do hope Libby recovers. Perhaps the owner of the dog in question would be obliged to pay the vet bill?

However, as stated by previous post, specific dogs are not "born to kill". The behaviour of these animals can be directly attributed to their environment and upbringing i.e. wholly based on what humans inflict, instill and raise them for/as.

So many times dogs of this kind are raised to be a status symbol and, as ably recorded, 'weapons'. (Usually) young men have them for this purpose with no lead (or large gold chains as leads), no training and no actual ability to own a creature. Sadly these animals usually end up discarded, sometimes in the most horrific way, and they find their way to animal homes/charities who are tasked with re-homing animals with behavioural problems.

Any animal can be raised in a loving environment where mutual love, affection and appreciation from both owner and creature allows a happy life with no danger of attacks on people or other animals.

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Sarah Booker Lewis says...
11:12am Wed 20 Mar 13

plantwoman wrote:
Arthatsme wrote:
Thank you for your support, I'm the owner of Libby and she is not a donkey she is a pony. Libby's home is theThe Retreat Horse Rescue she came to us having had a really bad life, so all she wants now is a peaceful
time and not a dog jumping the wall and attacking her. She never kicked the dog, she never had time it locked on to her face and kept dragging
her to the ground. A lot of the facts in this story are incorrect plus we were left with a very poorly pony and a very large vets bill. Annie
I do wish the Argus would get their facts right!
I hope Libby is OK, it's a really awful story.
Terriers are born to kill, that's what they do, it's in the genes. Stands to reason that if you own a terrier, you should be more aware of it's capabilities and KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL!!!
Thank you for your comments. Reporter Neil Vowles attended the court case and Libby was referred to at all times as a donkey, not a pony, hence the story reflects that.

We all hope Libby makes a full recovery.

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lillylou says...
11:13am Wed 20 Mar 13

dont agree when people say its how the dog is bought up they are hunting/fighting dogs and so many owners say it wont attack then they do the thing is when this breed bite they dont let go and its nearly immpossible to get them off where as normal breeds dont maul!thats like having a house cat and letting out with mice n birds its naturel instink its gonna kill it!

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lillylou says...
11:16am Wed 20 Mar 13

Arthatsme wrote:
Thank you for your support, I'm the owner of Libby and she is not a donkey she is a pony. Libby's home is theThe Retreat Horse Rescue she came to us having had a really bad life, so all she wants now is a peaceful
time and not a dog jumping the wall and attacking her. She never kicked the dog, she never had time it locked on to her face and kept dragging
her to the ground. A lot of the facts in this story are incorrect plus we were left with a very poorly pony and a very large vets bill. Annie
so sad to hear what happend, its all the time horse s,sheep and of couse dogs its disgusting i hope your pony recovers but do feel the dog should be destoyed because it will do it again why wait for another victim eg child in the park

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Beethoven says...
11:44am Wed 20 Mar 13

Ordered to be muzzled....Hmm. I guess the magistrate was a dog lover.
Should have ordered its destruction !

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thevoiceoftruth says...
9:55am Thu 21 Mar 13

What a stupid woman - she should be forced to pay the vets fees. Firstly, she did not even have a lead for the dog. Secondly, she had two other dogs with her - were they on leads or just running loose? I'd be very surprised if she really was bending down to pick up dog poo as she claims because she sounds completely irresponsible. I like staffies but they need a lot of training and should never be taken out without a lead. In fact, no dog should be taken out in public without a collar and a lead.

I am sick of seeing idiots walking through Brighton with dogs that are loose and are not well trained enough to keep to heel. I have seen a few dogs nearly get hit by cars because the owner has let them run all over the road. Some of these dogs aren't even wearing a collar.

I hope the poor pony recovers.

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ModelCitizen says...
12:25pm Thu 21 Mar 13

If there was justice or common sense at play the dog would be put down, the owner fined and made to pay the vet bills and the Argus censured every time it got its facts wrong. (If you ask anyone who's been involved in an incident reported in this paper they will inevitably say that the Argus got the facts wrong. The reporting is so lazy as the be almost criminal).

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staffies are so beautiful says...
3:29pm Thu 21 Mar 13

Can i just say,i am the owner of a staffie who is now 15 yrs old,he has been brought up in a loving enviroment,and can only remember twice in his life that he has been in a fight,and no he did not start it!!,i absolutley agree with the other comments here the poor pony and poor owners,this stupid woman should not have a staffie,i cant believe she did not have a lead with her!!!stupid stupid woman..dont blame the breed ,blame the idiot who was meant to be in control of the dog,and that goes for all dogs and owners,she should be made to pay the vets bills for this poor pony,and the dog should be taken of her!!!!

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Fercri Sakes says...
4:03pm Thu 21 Mar 13

FC wrote:
chrisso wrote:
FC wrote:
P.Dant wrote: In conclusion : if the police arrested everybody with bull terriers,they`d clear up a lot of crime and reduce the numbers these sort of incidents.
Are you retarded? Yeah, you're retarded.
No, he's about right.
Of course. Tell you what, lets arrest people on motorbikes JUST IN CASE they're Hells Angels! Or maybe you'd like to arrest all black people just in case they have a knife? Maybe you could arrest every man JUST IN CASE they might one day rape a woman!

You're an idiot. Grow up.
I think you're being silly.

Think of it more like a lion. I could bring a lion up in a loving environment but if it gets loose it will fall back to it's instincts and attack living things.

Certain breeds of dogs are instinctively more dangerous than others. And buying one of these breeds marks you out as a nutter or an idiot. There are safer dogs out there to buy.

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ThinkBrighton says...
4:10pm Thu 21 Mar 13

I hope Ms Woodcock is picking up the vets bills for the donkey and a few little treats.
It shows what kind of owner, NO LEAD,
how stupid can a person get, also how can a person control three dogs from car to parkland is she trying to cause road accidents as well
Dog S..t for brains?

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