A toddler was left scarred after being bitten in the face by a pet dog whose owner left it tied to railings outside a Carlisle primary school.

The owner of the springer spaniel involved, 41-year-old Catherine Pilkington, has admitted that her dog was dangerously out of control in a public place when it attacked Katy Dickinson outside Stanwix Primary School.

But Pilkington has now hired an animal behaviour expert in the hope that his evidence will help save her dog’s life.

Any dog which injures a person in public faces destruction unless its owner can prove that the attack was out of character and that the animal responsible does not pose a danger to public safety.

After the case was heard at the city’s magistrates court, Katy’s father Aaron Dickinson, 36, said that he and his partner Emma Surgeon, 34, felt strongly that the dog – called Domino – should be destroyed.

Prosecutor John Moran described how Katy’s mum, who has four other children, arrived in Church Place to collect two other daughters on September 21 last year.

Katy – at that time a month short of her second birthday – had sat on the ground next to her mum and a short distance from Domino, who was tied to the railings.

There was no sign of the dog’s owner, said Mr Moran.

It was a few minutes later that Domino turned on Katy.

Mr Moran said: “There was a scream. [Katy’s mum] looked down and saw blood on her daughter’s face. The dog had bitten the young child. She picked up the child who was screaming. She confirmed that there was blood everywhere.

“At this point, the defendant, Miss Pilkington came back. She said words to the effect, ‘I’m so sorry – the dog has never done anything like this before.”

Medics confirmed that Katy suffered a 7mm bite injury just below the bridge of her nose and doctors at The Cumberland Infirmary considered carrying out a “deep clean” of the wound but she did not need stitches.

Mr Moran continued: “At the moment, there is some faint scarring but it’s unclear whether this will be permanent.”

Quoting from the mother’s victim personal statement, the prosecutor said that Katy had gone from being able to sleep through the night to waking up in the night, distressed, and this appeared to be linked to what happened.

“There’s evidence also that the child is fearful whenever she sees a dog in the street, so it has had an effect,” he said.


Catherine Pilkington The court heard that Pilkington, of Chiswick Street, Carlisle, who is of previous good character, had gone to the school to collect her son. She tied Domino up because dogs are not allowed on the school grounds.

The three-and-a-half-year-old spaniel was usually well behaved, she told police. “She was in shock when she was told the dog had bitten a child,” said Mr Moran.

She had also expressed her remorse to Katy’s mum and vowed to never take her dog back to where the attack happened.

Gail Heard, for Pilkington, said a witness had seen the child “on top of the dog” when she was bitten.

The lawyer told magistrates: “Mrs Pilkington has engaged the services of an animal behaviourist who can give much more information about the dog, its behaviour and its current condition.

“That will enable you to assess whether it is a danger to public safety. This dog is a family pet.”

After the case, Mr Dickinson, from Stanwix, said: “That dog should be destroyed. We have a pet dog – a black labrador – and if it bit somebody I’d take it to be destroyed.

“The bite was millimetres from Katy’s eyes. How can they guarantee it won’t happen again?

"People should be aware that it is not just American pit bull terriers that can be a problem. It can be any dog. I know a vet with 40 years’ experience who is saying this dog should have been destroyed.”

Magistrates will sentence Pilkington on June 28, when they will also rule on whether Domino should live or die.