Valeria Fettuccia pleads guilty to being in charge of ‘out-of-control dog’

Published: 12 August, 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

A PREGNANT woman  took her rottweiler-type dog out for a walk on Hampstead Heath last year because she “felt sorry for it,” but it went on to attack another dog and its owner, a court heard.

Valeria Fettuccia, 35, from Haringey, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control in a public place when she appeared at Highbury Magistrates’ Court last month.

Ms Fettuccia took her dog, a rottweiler-­Alsation-collie mix called Lucio, to the Heath on August 15 last year, where it attacked a 21-month-old border collie and its owner, Cheryl Cagrola. 

Moments earlier, prosecutor David Davies said, Ms Fettuccia had warned Ms Cagrola Lucio didn’t like male dogs.

Mr Davies said: “Cheryl Cagrola was walking her dog, Rock, on Hampstead Heath and as she was walking she noticed Ms Fettuccia with her dog, Lucio. Ms Fettuccia said to Ms Cagrola: ‘Is that a male dog? My dog does not like male dogs’. 

“At that point he ran to the other dog, causing serious injuries. Ms Cagrola tried to pull her dog away and she was bitten by Ms Fettuccia’s dog.”

Lucio was not on a lead and did not have a muzzle, he said.

Ms Cagrola had puncture wounds in her left hand and swellings and abrasions, while her dog’s ribs were broken and his intestines were left hanging out in the attack. Rock spent 10 days at the vets and his care cost £2,700.

In a police interview, Ms Fettuccia said “her dog was good-natured and never known to attack any other dog or person,” Mr Davies said.

She could not explain why she told Ms Cagrola why he was aggressive around other male dogs, except that she knew “male dogs can fight,” he added.

Lucio has been in police kennels since the attack, at a cost of £20 a night. 

The judge ordered a pre-sentence report on whether Lucio is likely to attack again, in which case he will be destroyed.

Ms Fettuccia’s husband, who appealed on her behalf but would not give his name outside court, said his wife had never taken the dog for a walk previously.

He said: “We usually have a dog walker but he was away and maybe she felt sorry for the dog. This was the only time she took him for a walk. We think [that because] she was pregnant at the time Lucio got really overprotective.”

Ms Fettuccia’s husband, a plumber, said he couldn’t afford to pay the kennel fees or other charges as he was ­currently unemployed.

Judge Baker said:  “As a result of your dog’s action and your negligence, a woman suffered injury and her dog’s suffered severe injury. In these circumstances a court must consider the possible destruction of your dog.”

The sentencing takes place later this month.