Tuesday, October 16 2012

AN ELDERLY Scarborough woman who sought $2,000 compensation after her beloved pet cat was mauled to death by a man’s pitbull, was yesterday awarded $500 by a Scarborough Magistrate who was called to determine the outcome of the case. The dog owner was also fined $100 for not having his pet muzzled.“You want $2,000 for a cat?” Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John asked Dorine Thomas. “You cannot get that!” Forde-John added as she ordered Tristan Daniel to compensate Thomas in the sum of $500 plus $100 for not muzzling his dog.

Failure to pay the compensation and fine within the stipulated time would result in Thomas serving 30 days and seven days simple imprisonment, respectively.

“If you have a bad dog, why don’t you have it tethered? Why didn’t you take it home,” the magistrate asked Daniel of Bagatelle Trace, in Scarborough. The man was in the Third Court on a charge that being the owner of a dog, allowed it to roam without a muzzle.

The charge was brought against Daniel, in a private action, by Thomas. She told the court that at about 3 pm on January 14, she was at home when she heard a noise in her yard and on looking, saw a dog running around as it attacked her cat. Thomas said she called out to Daniel, urging him to take charge of his dog, but the dog did not respond to Daniel’s calls and subsequently grabbed the cat, mauling it to death. “My cat was in my yard and the dog came in my yard and killed my cat,” Thomas said. When she went to Daniel over the incident, she claimed that he “brushed me aside.” Thomas said she reported the matter to the Scarborough Police and was advised to consult with a Justice of the Peace at the Scarborough Magistracy and pursue private legal action against Daniel. Daniel has seven days in which to pay the sums.