Owner's anger over dog isolation

Roxy has been destroyed

The owner of a dog which was destroyed just 24 hours after a court ruled it wasn't dangerous said it should never have been kept in isolation.

Irene Chamber's dogs Roxy and Hooch were returned to her a year after Belfast City council wardens took them.

Dog warden Yolanda Elwood said the dogs were separated to protect them.

"Belfast City Council acted because we believed these dogs had the characteristics of pit bull terriers," she said.

"Unfortunately, Roxy became aggressive towards Hooch in the kennel situation and she had to be removed from Hooch to ensure his safety.

"We did not want Mrs Chambers' other dog to be injured by Roxy. Unfortunately, this trait in this type of dog is hard to suppress."

Destroyed

Roxy was destroyed just 24 hours after being returned to Mrs Chambers.

The two mongrels spent the last 12 months in a dog pound because it was thought they were pit bulls.

Ms Chambers said the two dogs "could not get along after being held separately by the city council for a year".

"She had been taken away as a pup of seven months and locked away in confinement since she was a year," she said.

"She had no interaction with any other animal and this is what had done the damage, so I decided there and then to have her put down."

In a statement the council said they had asked that Roxy be put down earlier.

"This suggests the offer from the council was based on sound judgement," it said.

The animals were seized after a report that Ms Chambers was keeping dangerous dogs.

At a court hearing on Wednesday, a magistrate accepted the dogs were mongrels.

Dismissing the charges, he said the animals were owned by a "loving and caring lady".