Tyler Legrand: Dog attacks kid in mum’s arms in their driveway
A boy is so terrified of dogs after he was bitten by an errant hound in Narre Warren South he is paranoid about leaving his own house.
South East
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A man who lost control of his dog as it walked along a suburban street before it ran off and bit a mother and child has been hit with $5000 in fines and pound fees.
Tyler Teddy Legrand pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog causing injury and lack of control charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The court heard at 5.30pm on June 9 this year Legrand and his girlfriend were walking their American bulldog named Bowser on a Narre Warren South street.
As he passed the leash to his partner it slipped from his hands and the hound ran straight up to a scared mother and her eight-year-old son in their driveway.
The dog jumped up at the kid, biting him on his leg, and attacked the mother’s arm as she tried to fend Bowser away.
Legrand quickly arrived on the scene and managed to pull his pet away.
The child was left screaming in pain and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
The boy received two puncture wounds to his calf and the mum, who suffered a superficial bite, had bruising and soreness on her arm.
Rangers were called and the eight-year-old dog was seized and taken to the pound, where it remains.
Casey shire prosecutor Linda Ross said the council had yet to decide on the future of the hound.
A victim impact statement from the mother was read aloud in court detailing how her son is still very worried and scared around dogs, and has lost all confidence.
She wrote her boy was anxious and paranoid and has to make sure the car and house are unlocked before running between the two.
She stated that if he sees a dog off lead he runs back inside.
Legrand, a Narre Warren South recycling worker, represented himself in court, saying he was apologetic for his mistake.
“I shouldn’t have given the lead over to my girlfriend,” Legrand said.
“It happened, when I got there I waited around to see if everything was OK.
“He (Bowser) is not a vicious dog, it was an unfortunate situation.”
Magistrate Andrew Halse said he wasn’t convinced the animal could be classed as not vicious if it bit a stranger and a child in a driveway.
“What would prompt a dog to attack a child in the arms of his mother?” Mr Halse said.
“Greater care should have been taken not to have let the dog be released from your control.”
Mr Halse said Legrand had acted responsibly by remaining at the scene, had no priors and had pleaded guilty at an early opportunity.
He was fined $2500 and also ordered to pay $2500 in pound fees.
