A SCHOOLBOY who lost the tip of a finger while attempting to save his cairn terrier from an attacking retriever, has been awarded £11,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Judge Raymond Groarke heard that when Alan Foley (12), of The Chantries, Balrothery, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, was taken to the Children's Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin, with the severed part of his right dominant middle finger, doctors decided reattachment was not possible.
He had been treated as an outpatient for some time.
Mr Finbarr Fox, counsel for Alan, now 14, said he had been walking his dog near his home in June 1995 when the cairn terrier became embroiled in a fight with a retriever, owned by a neighbour, Mr Joseph Foran. The boy had sought to separate the two dogs neither of which had been on a lead, when he was bitten.
When Mr Fox told Judge Groarke that he considered there may be some difficulty on liability, Judge Groarke approved a settlement offer of £11,000.