A WREXHAM woman has been told she will find herself without her dogs if she can't control them.
Chiara McCormick, of Trevor, was given the warning when she appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Friday.
The 25-year-old admitted that on April 26 this year in Johnstown, she was in charge of two dangerously out of control dogs and that one of them injured a person.
Nicola Williams, prosecuting, said complainant John McCourt had been walking his dog in Pant Glas, when he spotted another dog running loose.
The white Staffordshire Terrier Cross named Pablo belonged to McCormick and it grabbed Mr McCourt's dog by the throat and shook it.
Mr McCourt attempted to free his dog by pulling Pablo's jaws open, becoming injured and falling to the floor in the process.
At this point McCormick appeared with her other dog, a brown Boxer Cross named Nacho, which was on a lead but broke away and ran to Mr McCourt.
Nacho proceeded to attack the complainant directly by biting and locking its jaw on his upper left thigh.
Ms Williams said Mr McCourt sustained a number of injuries, including a fracture and puncture wounds.
His dog was left with a lacerated mouth and swelling to the chest, neck and jaw.
Vets needed to make an incision in the dog's neck in order to insert a feeding tube, which had to be used for four to six weeks after the incident.
Mr McCourt was off work for seven weeks and said in a victim impact statement that he had subsequently experienced issues with his back and knees, as well as not being able to fully move his thumb.
He said he feared another incident would happen and had started driving to another location to walk his dog.
The court heard he also incurred a considerable financial cost, with treatment for his dog coming to more than £2,000.
Michael Pugh, defending, said: "She's never seen either of her dogs behaving in a manner anything close to what happened on the day. "She does take the care and welfare of the dogs with the utmost importance - she treats them as if they were her children. "The incident was very quick, over in a minute or so. "She's obviously sorry for what happened and tells me it has been a life changer."
He said his client decided to move from the Johnstown area due to a "campaign of hate" online following the incident.
Hilary Wiseman, chair of the magistrates, said: "This was a really nasty incident with your dogs. "We are dog owners too and we know how much part of the family they can be but when they're out with you, you have to be in control of them all the time.
"You really don't know what's around the corner and what they can do.
"I have no doubt [it was] a very scary situation to be in."
McCormick was handed a £120 fine for each of the offences and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £34 surcharge.
The magistrates made a contingent destruction order, which requires McCormick to keep the dogs muzzled and on a lead in public.
She must also pay £2,500 compensation.
The chair added: "You must keep them under control, otherwise you're going to find yourself without dogs."
