NEWS AND OPINION: A Crufts-winning dog breeder faces a possible jail sentence after her Belgian Shepherd mauled a visitor to her home. The attack caused significant blood loss.
Margaret Peacock, 69, is shown in the picture by Ben Mitchell arriving at Salisbury Crown Court where she was convicted of being in charge of the dog, Mako, which was dangerously out of control.
The prosecution barrister at the trial, Sian Beaven, told the court that Natasha Turner, 33 at the time of the visit, had gone to Peacock’s home in Farnborough, Hampshire to do some DIY. She was also there to visit her own dog, Bobo, who was staying there.
Turner told the court, in evidence, that she arrived to help Peacock move her bed to another room to place it nearer a wood burner due to the cold. Note: wood-burning stoves emit a lot of pollutants which remain inside the home causing it to be more polluted than outside. That is another issue which I couldn’t resist adding.
She described the visit on February 1, 2021 as follows: “It happened really quick, when we realised it was going wrong I was scared because I didn’t think I was going to get the dog off between us. It was like someone had got a knife, put it in your leg and was tearing it through with a knife, that’s the only way I can describe it. I was screaming. I was crying my eyes out. It was really, really bad.”
She said that Peacock helped her to get the dog off and behind a gate but she was bitten as well in the process.
Peacock told Turner not to contact the police and brought gifts to encourage her to stay quiet. Peacock was frightened that the dog would be put down. The Times report does not say that she was frightened that she would be prosecuted. Although I suspect she realised that.
Peacock denied that Mako attacked Turner. She claimed that she arrived injured from a dog attack in a wood.
Judge Richard Parkes KC adjourned the case for sentencing on February 3, 2023. On releasing Peacock on bail he told her: “Do not assume from the fact that I release you on bail that there isn’t a very real risk of a sentence of custody.”
Comment and opinion: it’s interesting that Peacock said that Turner had been attacked by a dog in a wood. The court didn’t believe her. Therefore she was lying. That goes to her credibility as a person. And she’s a dog breeder. Dog breeders should have high integrity because they are bringing into the world sentient animals which is a highly responsible job.
You could argue that dog breeders are inherently unethical because they bring into the world animals with inherited diseases. The Belgian Shepherd is prone to suffering from a variety of diseases such as dental disease which affects 80% of all dogs by the age of two. And the Belgian Shepherd is more likely than other dogs to have teeth problems.
One website on animal health reports that Belgian Shepherds are susceptible to bacterial and bowel infections such as parvo, rabies and distemper although they are normally vaccinated against these diseases.
And obesity can be a significant health problem in this breed. And they state that epilepsy is also an issue. And hip and elbow dysplasia is another inherited disease that causes the joints to develop improperly and results in arthritis.
Other health issues for this dog breed include progressive retinal atrophy, cataracts, pannus and hemangiosarcoma.
It is an awful catalogue of health problems inherited by this dog breed. It looks awful. And she’s bringing dogs into the world with these diseases, at least potentially. Not much by way of ethical behaviour there is there?
