'I cried and screamed': Owner describes seeing her dog butchered by a pitbull
Pitbull owner is fined €6,000, dog is to be destroyed
A man who took his pitbull out for a walk unleashed has been fined €6,000 after the animal mauled another dog as its screaming owner watched. The pitbull is also to be destroyed by court order.
The incident happened in July 2025 in Swieqi.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard harrowing accounts and watched graphic footage of the incident, which led to a dog being killed in the attack.
The woman told the court that she was returning home after having taken her own dog for a walk.
"Immediately, it was a matter of seconds, [the pitbull] grabbed my dog and started shaking him very violently. I started screaming and crying and was obviously very stressed out. My dog could not even bark because it was being grabbed... the [other] dog was just too powerful," the woman told the court.
"I cried and screamed... My neighbour came to see who was crying, and she noticed that it was me. She started screaming and alerting all the other neighbours who also heard the screams, but they were too afraid to come through because they thought that somebody was being raped. I don’t know what they thought, but they were afraid to come through," she added.
"Suddenly, I saw my landlord’ s husband come down. He saw my dog being attacked, so he came to kick the pitbull. Other people then came and did everything to restrain the dog (pitbull). In the meantime, the police came and the dog was taken to a vet. But he died very painfully, because his ribs were crushed and a punctured lung and could not survive."
In its considerations, the court said it had been clearly established that the pitbull's owner, Massimo Rizzoglio, had walked the dog unleashed. He was actually walking several metres behind him, leash in hand.
The pitbull did not attack anybody else, and Rizzoglio paid all medical expenses.
"There is no doubt in the court’s mind that the defendant’s negligence and recklessness led to this traumatic event, which could have had far more serious consequences had other people been injured," the magistrate said.
"Moreover, having seen how volatile the dog’s temperament turned out to be, where minutes it is walking casually and then it suddenly transforms into a monstrosity, convinces the court of the danger the said dog poses."
The court found the accused guilty of all charges and condemned him to pay a €6,000 fine. It also ordered the police to destroy the dog at the defendant’s expense.