Dog bites pedestrian in Gozo; owner fined €100
Court finds owner negligent for failing to properly secure muzzle
A man was fined €100 by the Court of Magistrates after his dog bit a man walking past a Xlendi restaurant.
The 44-year-old owner, who lives in Nadur, was found guilty of failing to keep his dog under control and of negligently allowing it to injure the passer-by. The incident happened in front of Diamond Restaurant in Triq Sant’ Indrija on May 27, 2023.
He was acquitted of a third charge of keeping an unlicensed dog.
The victim, who happened to be passing by the restaurant, was bitten and sustained minor injuries. He required treatment at the Victoria health centre and later filed a police report.
The owner admitted to police that the six-month old dog was not microchipped.
In court, the owner insisted the dog had never shown signs of aggression and insisted it had been wearing a muzzle. However, he admitted the muzzle had not been properly secured due to the hot weather, saying he had left it "a little bit open" to allow the dog to breathe more easily.
Magistrate Jean Paul Grech noted that the owner's use of a muzzle in the first place suggested he was aware of the dog's potentially aggressive behaviour. The court said his failure to fasten it properly constituted negligence and directly led to the bite.
“Had the muzzle been properly secured, the incident would have been avoided,” the court concluded.
The owner also said the victim had stepped on the dog, triggering the attack. But the court dismissed this explanation as an “afterthought,” noting that the accused had not mentioned it in his original statement to police.
A representative from the Animal Welfare Department confirmed the dog was not registered, but the court ruled that this was not sufficient to prove the charge under the Dogs Act.
Given the lack of serious injury and the fact this appeared to be an isolated incident, the court chose not to order the dog be put down.