Future of dog that attacked collie and owner Cheryl Cagrola hangs in the balance

Published: 19 August, 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

THE future for a mix-breed rottweiler that bit another dog and its owner on Hampstead Heath is still uncertain following a court hearing.

Lucio, a five-year-old rottweiler­Alsatian-collie, could still be destroyed after he attacked a 21-month-old border collie, Rock, and its owner Cheryl Cagrola last August. In July, Lucio’s owner ­Valeria Fettuccia, 35, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control in a ­public place. 

Rock suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack and Ms Cagrola was left with puncture wounds and abrasions to her hand after she tried to pull Lucio off her dog.

At a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday, District Judge Ian Baker said he needed to see a report on whether Lucio posed a risk before he could decide whether the dog should be destroyed. Experts will decide whether he is a potential threat to other pets. At the time of the attack, an RSPCA officer said Lucio should be trained “in an attempt to socialise him, in the hope that he will at least learn to tolerate other male dogs”.  

Judge Baker has put his decision off until September 13. He asked that special consideration be paid to the fact that since Lucio went into kennels, Ms Fettuccia and her husband, who live in Haringey, now have a six-month old baby.

Aside from a destruction order, Judge Baker can also apply ­conditions that Lucio be muzzled in public when he is not on a lead.