Appeal unit’s pro bono success for Douglas the dog

 

A St Bernard dog has been saved from destruction, after a successful appeal by counsel who acted pro bono.

Douglas, a three-year-old St Bernard, attacked a jackadoodle, which had to be put down, and its owner in Arbroath, and a sheriff made an order for the dog’s destruction.

Saving Saints Rescue UK, a charity which tries to find homes for rescued St Bernards, owned Douglas. At the time of the incident, he was being looked after by a fosterer.

A destruction order was not opposed at the hearing in Forfar Sheriff Court, but Saving Saints Rescue UK was put in touch with local solicitors who instructed the Faculty’s Criminal Appeal Service and it agreed to pursue an appeal at no charge to the charity.

Advocates Claire Mitchell and Moira MacKenzie worked on the case, and Ms MacKenzie persuaded the Sheriff Appeal Court that the destruction order should be quashed.

The Criminal Appeal Service was set up in January 2014 as a “one-stop shop” which can handle all the administration of an appeal and arrange representation and instruct at court hearings.