Charlie, a bulldog, came under the legal lens when a woman claimed he caused her to fall while she was walking her dogs and that he had also attacked one of her dogs. (This picture is just for illustration, and it is not Charlie).
The alleged antics of Charlie, an English bulldog, who managed to slip through a gate in a Johannesburg suburb in July three years ago, turned into a legal wrangle as a woman who was walking her dogs at the time claimed Charlie caused her to fall before he attacked her dog.
Louise Rivett turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, where she claimed damages against Robert and Ann Blom, the owners of Charlie. But as the legal challenge unfolded, it was clear that Rivett and the Bloms’ versions of the events were not the same. While Rivett blamed the bulldog for the ordeal she said she had to suffer, the Bloms said Charlie was blameless.
It all started when Rivett was walking her two dogs, Max, a Scottish terrier, and Marge, a mixed breed Yorkshire terrier. Both the dogs were on leads. She noticed Charlie running at her “at a pace with his ears back”. On reaching her, Charlie stopped, looked up at her, and then ran straight through her legs, knocking her off balance, Rivett told Acting Judge Sarita Liebenberg. She said she fell to the ground on all fours.
