Francis Thorley and his Alaskan Marmalute Mishka
An 84-year-old great-grandfather whose dog was accused of mauling a cyclist has been cleared after it was deemed too fat to harm anyone.
Retired company manager Francis Thorley was walking his Alaskan Malamute Mishka off her lead in a park when he got caught up in an altercation with another dog walker, who was out on her tricycle.
Andrea Ostholt who was with her terrier cross Woody in Chorlton Park in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester claimed 11-year-old Mishka, who weighs 7st 8lb, came running towards her snarling and bearing its teeth.
She said she got off her tricycle to protect her own dog but was bitten by Mishka, leaving her with a wound to the back of her right calf.
Mr Thorley, of Chorlton, stood trial at Manchester Magistrates Court for having a dangerous dog out of control but was cleared after he said Mishka – a rescue dog – was deemed ‘morbidly obese’ by vets and walked too slowly to be able to bite anyone.
After the case Mr Thorley who acquired Mishka five years ago after he suffered a stroke said: ‘Mishka isn’t an angry dog, she’s calm, she loves people and she in fact other dogs. There’s nothing wrong with Mishka – except she’s a little overweight.
‘She used to love eating chicken or beef but now she’s on a diet specially made by the vet. She is starting to lose weight, but she can’t run, she gets out of breath. She is supposed to be around 40kg or less.
Mishka – a rescue dog – was deemed ‘morbidly obese’ by vets and walked too slowly to be able to bite anyone
Mr Thorley was walking Mishka off her lead in a park when he got caught up in an altercation with another dog walker, who was out on her tricycle
‘I think she got fat because of whatever happened with her former owner. The fact is she just loves her treats. Mishka came into my life after I had a stroke, I can’t use my left hand. She helps me and she never tugs on her lead. She listens to me and we get on really well. She’s become a part of the family. I get emotional when I stroke her.
‘I’m just hoping now that she’s on a diet she can lose some weight and get healthy. She’s an old dog now but has never bitten anybody before, and she never will.’
The incident occurred last April as Miss Ostholt was pedalling through the park with Woody attached to her tricyle by its lead.
She said: ‘I attach Woody to the side of the tricycle using a short lead so he can’t run in front or fall behind and I walk him in Chorlton Park sometimes. That day I was walking him down this path which lead to an open area and I saw this big dog on the right hand side – it looked like she was on her own, and I noticed she wasn’t on a lead.
Mishka weighs around 10kg more than she should. She is starting to lose weight, but can’t run and gets out of breath
‘I saw the dog look at us then she came for us and I didn’t see any other people.
‘She was trotting at first, then she started running. She was coming for my dog, not me. I had to stop cycling otherwise I would have hit it.
‘The dog came to my right hand side and my dog was on my left hand side. She was snarling and baring her teeth. She started trying to go through the frame of the tricycle to get to my dog. She was trying to push through. My dog was barking.
‘I tried to get off the bike twice, then I just went for it. I climbed off to my left side, with my dog. I then saw some people coming and the dog went away.
‘I said ‘oh my god, look at my leg, she’s bit my leg’. I went to hospital and had to have stitches. I was on antibiotics for a number of weeks. He just said ‘she doesn’t bite’. They didn’t stop to help me, they just walked away.
‘My partner called the police two days later. He should have had that dog on a leash. There is no way my own dog would have bitten me.’
The altercation occured in Chorlton Park in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
Mr Thorley told the court: ‘The dog helps me getting about but she is not a fast dog – she is described as being morbidly obese. She’s just very gentle and friendly and isn’t aggressive to other dogs.
‘That day I took her to the park with my daughter and I didn’t have Mishka on a lead. She walks really slow and I went to sit down on a bench and Mishka was sat next to me.
‘I saw a lady come out of the path on the other side and she was on a tricycle and she had a little dog with her. Her dog started barking, being very aggressive and making a lot of noise. Mishka walked over to them because she heard the barking. Her dog was trying to get through the frame of the tricycle to get to Mishka.
Mishka was not deemed to do anything wrong and her owner was cleared
‘Mishka was defending herself, she barked back. She didn’t get aggressive until that dog was snapping at her. I walked over and ordered Mishka to ‘leave’ and she came straight back to me.
‘My dog wasn’t being dangerous, she was fighting back when that dog was snarling at her. Mishka didn’t bite that lady, she would never do anything like that.’
Mr Thorley’s daugher Katrina, a nurse, said: ‘Mishka did not bite the lady – her own dog bit her. It was aggressive and horrible and it was so loud.
‘We went over to check on her as soon as we could. We offered her a tissue and asked if she needed any help, but because her dog was so loud with barking, she couldn’t hear us.
‘Mishka is really calm and friendly. I trust her around all people and animals. She doesn’t run, she can’t because of her condition. She is an old dog.
‘The other dog was snarling, it was quite frightening. We reported the incident to the police that day. The dog just went ballistic. There is no way Mishka bit her, I was there, I saw what happened, and it’s not true about Mishka.’
Finding Mr Thorley not guilty District Judge Mark Hadfield said: ‘There were two dogs in this event, and the necessary research into the size of the bite has not been undertaken so I cannot correctly decide which dog did bite the victim.
‘Both dogs were snapping at each other, like dogs do but I do not accept that Mishka was being aggressive. There is no evidence to prove that she bit the victim’s leg.’