Boy bitten by dog at Beaconsfield Upper winery Carlei Green Vineyards
A three-year-old bitten on the face by a dog at a winery in Melbourne’s southeast has been left so scarred he cries when he sees his reflection, a court has heard. The dog’s owner — a second time offender — was given a fine.
South East
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A three-year-old bitten on the eye by a dog at a winery has been left so scarred he cries when he looks at himself in the mirror.
The boy was attacked by the border collie while his family ate lunch at the Carlei Green Vineyards in Beaconsfield Upper, resulting in him needing plastic surgery to repair a tear duct.
His mum said he was upset when “he looks in the mirror and says ‘bad doggy, bad doggy’” and “I have a scar, and don’t look beautiful”.
The injury has affected the family so much, they refuse to put photos of him on Facebook for fear of upsetting relatives and friends.
The owner of the winery, Sergio Carlei, this week pleaded guilty at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court to a charge of owning a dog that attacked or bit a person causing serious injury.
The boy’s family was enjoying lunch in the outside area of the winery’s pizzeria at around 4.45pm on March 10 this year when the owner’s black and white border collie named Diesel came wandering.
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As the child approached the dog, it turned and bit him on the face, causing severe damage to his eye.
The boy was taken to hospital where he underwent plastic surgery to a cut under his lower right eyelid, which required a stent in damaged tear ducts, and a puncture wound to his right upper eyelid.
Diesel was taken to the pound, where he has stayed. A decision about his future has yet to be made.
The mother’s harrowing victim impact statement was read out in court.
She said her son had to have an artificial tear duct inserted into his face and full recovery would take many months.
She said he was now scared, upset and angry, and they missed his previous bubbly personality.
She said other kids told him “he looks scary” and even now couldn’t talk about the incident because it made her cry.
Carlei, a chiropractor, said he was extremely sorry for what had happened and had put in place measures to make sure it never happened again.
He said he had watched CCTV of the attack, which had now been taped over, and saw Diesel “protecting its food source” and the bite happened simultaneously as the child “embraced” the dog.
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The court heard he had pleaded guilty to a previous local law charge of allowing a dog (not Diesel) to rush at a person, incurring a $500 fine, just a few weeks before this attack.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said his responsibility to ensure the safety of the public on his commercial property was very high, and he had failed.
Carlei was fined $5000 and has to pay council costs of $2547. The maximum penalty that could have been imposed was a fine of around $6400.