The owner of a Bull Terrier that attacked a Chihuahua in Ta’ Qali in January has been fined over the incident but both owners were found guilty of leaving their dogs unchained.

Nigel Caruana and Christian Seychell were both arraigned before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera over the 31 January incident.

Louiselle Elsadi, a relative of Mr Seychell’s, recounted with tears in her eyes how the Bull Terrier grabbed the smaller dog in its mouth. She said she did not want to see the bigger dog put down but its owner should have muzzled it.

The Chihuahua’s owner was bitten as he tried to pry the Bull Terrier’s mouth open, she said.

The smaller dog was taken to a vet in Attard and required several other visits.

Cross examined by lawyer Michael Sciriha, appearing for Mr Caruana, the witness denied that the smaller dog had provoked the Bull Terrier.

Mr Seychell said he had tried blocking the Bull Terrier’s nose in an attempt to free his pet. He said Mr Caruana had paid him around €1,000 in veterinary fees.

Mr Caruana said his Bull Terrier had been playing with other dogs shortly before the incident. His dog was even used to playing with children, he said. He said dog behaviourist Robert Spiteri had concluded that the Bull Terrier was not aggressive.

He had also called at the vet’s to see how the Chihuahua, ‘Pizellu’, was doing.

Mr Caruana’s wife said the Bull Terrier was “friendly, timid u sweet natured”.

She said the smaller dog might have provoked the Bull Terrier and that it might have sustained some of its injuries as its owners tried to set it free of the other dog.

Lawyer Martin Fenech, appearing for Christian Seychell, said the incident would have been more serious had the Bull Terrier attacked a baby instead of another dog. He said Bull Terriers were an aggressive breed.

On the other hand, Dr Sciriha, appearing for Mr Caruana, said the larger dog had not attacked any humans and as such could not be considered to be dangerous. He said Bull Terriers had a docile nature, despite their appearance.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera rejected the argument that Mr Caruana was not responsible for the incident just because his dog had not attacked a person.

She found both men guilty of leaving their dogs unleashed and fined them €23.29 each. Mr Caruana was fined a further €50 after being found responsible for the incident.