Woman attacked by dogs didn't want owner to be jailed

A woman who received 52 stitches after she was attacked by two dogs asked that the owner would not be jailed.

The animals pushed her to the ground and she sustained cuts to her hands, arms and side of head.

She was rushed to Naas General Hospital and later transferred to St James' Hospital in Dublin.

She was given a total of 52 surgical stitches for her wounds.

The court was told that the dogs were previously timid family pets but Mr McCormack put them down immediately after the attack.

His defence solicitor said the defendant, who had no previous convictions, was very distressed by what had happened.

Judge Desmond Zaidan insisted that the charges didn't reflect the serious nature of the case.

The victim said in her victim impact statement that she was out of work for three months after the attack.

She added that she was too distressed to come to court.

She also said that she didn't see the defendant go to prison over the incident.

Judge Zaidan imposed fines totalling €2,000 but consented to an appeal on a three month prison sentence he handed down.