Japanese hunting dog spared despite ‘tearing lumps of woman’s leg’

19 Feb Daily Telegraph

A council chairman’s Japanese hunting dog called Fuji has been spared death by a court despite viciously savaging a walker and leaving her permanently disfigured.

Helen Bromfield, 52, was left permanently disfigured after the akita dog attacked her as it ran loose on the country estate of his owner Brian Thornton Despite Mr Thornton, the chairman of Gloucestershire County Council, insisting the 10 year-old Japanese hunting dog was well behaved, it attacked her as she held her own lurcher dog before tearing “lumps of flesh” from her leg.

Mrs Bromfield, who feared she was going to be killed, has been forced to have skin grafts following the mauling and insiated that Fuji should be destroyed. But magistrates gave the pet a second chance after Mr Thornton, also former Sheriff of Gloucester, insisted his dog was normally “beautifully behaved”. Gloucester Magistrates Court heard Fuji sank his teeth into the leg of Mrs Bromfield, a worker at the Thorntons’ Priors Mesne estate, near Aylburton, Lydney, on September 29 last year.

She lived on the estate with her partner David, who worked the grounds, and their own lurcher dog. Akita dog Fuji, a large spitz breed originating from the mountainous northern regions of Japan, had been kept apart from the Bromfield’s lurcher for four years. “Helen made a statement saying she was carrying her lurcher dog from her car when Fuji ran towards her aggressively,” Sharon Jomaa, prosecuting, told the court: “He sank his teeth into her leg, knocking her to the floor. “She felt Fuji was tearing her leg apart and saw lumps of flesh flying off. She was very frightened and thought that Fuji was going to kill her.”

Mrs Bromfield, who now lives in Somerset, underwent operations and a skin graft and was in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for two weeks and has been left permanently disfigured by the attack. Mrs Jomaa added: “She is angry at what happened and has nightmares and flashbacks. “The victim has said she would hate that to happen to someone else, especially a child, and thinks that Fuji should be destroyed.” Verity Thornton, Mr Thornton’s wofe, admitted being the owner of a dog not under proper control following the incident. Magistrates were given the option of destroying the dog, but decided to save it after it was brought into the court room to meet them. Fuji must now be muzzled and kept on a lead whenever outside his owners’ five-acre garden.