Woman settles action over claims she was bitten by German Shepherd

A woman has settled her High Court action in which she claimed she was bitten by a German Shepherd dog after she intervened to stop it and her Labrador from fighting.

Marcjanna Stogowska (41) claimed the German Shepherd was allegedly unmuzzled as it was being walked near her home and it and her black Labrador, Junior, got in a fight.

The owners of the German Shepherd dog, Rocky, denied the dog was unmuzzled and say the muzzle was ripped off in the dog fight and the German Shepherd was on a short leash. They also claim the woman’s Labrador bit her arm and was the aggressor in the fight.

On the second day of the hearing on Friday afternoon, Michael Byrne SC, for Ms Stogowska, told Mr Justice Michael Hanna the case had been settled.

Opening the case the previous day, Mr Byrne had said Junior was a very big, docile dog and known in the locality and played with children. He said it was their case the German Shepherd grabbed Ms Stogowska’s wrist and pulled her away very severely.

Counsel said she had a very severe injury to the tendons in her arm and she later had to have surgery and has been left with a scar.

Ms Stogowska, of Lattonfasky, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, had sued Rocky’s owners, Patrick J Hand, his wife Margaret and their daughter Shannon, of Tullynahinnera, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, as a result of the incident on July 1st, 2019.

She claimed the German Shepherd bit her right hand and wrist without warning. It was claimed there was a failure to provide a muzzle for the German Shepherd and to ensure someone in a position to control the dog was looking after him.

Ms Stogowska was out of work for several weeks after the incident.

The Hands denied all the claims and contended there was an alleged failure to ensure the Labrador dog was controlled with a leash and was properly controlled at all times.

They said the Labrador was allowed to wander freely and to allegedly attack the other dog.

In her evidence, Ms Stogowska said when the dog bit her he pulled her two metres “like a toy”.

Conducting cross-examination, John McDonagh SC, for the Hands, put it to her in the dog fight that the muzzle was ripped off with such violence, the strap on it was broken and the muzzle came off and was subsequently picked up by the Hands.

Ms Stogowska said there was no muzzle.

Counsel put it her that Shannon Hand, who had been walking Rocky, was knocked to the ground and would say she clearly saw Ms Stogowska put her arm in to get her dog away and the Labrador bit her arm and held on to her for a couple of seconds

Ms Stogowska replied: “No the German Shepherd bit me. I am 100 per cent sure it was the German Shepherd.”