A man who threw his dog over his fence to attack his neighbour during an argument has been denied leave to bring a second appeal.
An American mastiff (file photograph). Photo: Creative Commons
Mark Lambert was sentenced in December to eight-and-a-half years in prison.
Court documents describe Lambert's relationship with his neighbour as "less than cordial".
On 13 April 2014, the neighbour prodded Lambert with a broken broom handle through a gap in the fence.
In retaliation, Lambert lifted his "American mastiff-type dog" over the fence and watched as the dog savagely attacked the man's leg.
The dog was already subject to a destruction order authorising its killing, which had been suspended pending an appeal.
When the neighbour tried to get a hammer to defend himself, Lambert jumped over "not in order to make the dog stop, but to get the hammer" and hit him, in what the neighbour described as a "king hit", before ordering the dog to stop.
The neighbour suffered severe leg wounds and was wheelchair-bound for five months, needed daily dressings for 109 days, and could not work for six months.
The judge at the sentencing noted "large chunks of his flesh were ripped out by this dog".
Mr Lambert's earlier appeal against the length of the sentence was dismissed in February, and the Court of Appeal has today refused his bid to bring a second appeal.
"There is nothing in the facts or the sentencing processes that causes us to consider there is a risk of a miscarriage of justice if the matter is not further considered.
"It was a brutal assault which resulted in serious consequences, and there were indeed several aggravating factors."
