A man whose “large and powerful” XL bullies mauled a neighbour to death after escaping from the owner’s home has been jailed for five years.
James Harrison Trimble-Pettitt’s two dogs had previously attacked other people and were not being kept properly, a court has heard.
Father-of-two Ian Price, 52, died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in what the judge called an “appalling act of savagery” near his home in Stonnall, Staffordshire, in September 2023.
Stafford Crown Court heard the dogs had no toys, blankets or dog beds and often escaped from their home address in the village through open windows and unlocked doors.
Trimble-Pettitt, 33, now of Fradley, was jailed for five years on Thursday after pleading guilty in October at Stafford Crown Court to two counts of being the owner of a dog which, when dangerously out of control, caused Mr Price’s death.
Mr Price, who was out walking his own dogs, saw a champagne-coloured female XL bully called Via in the street and tried to “shepherd” her back to the property of Trimble-Pettitt, who had gone to work, leaving the front gate open, prosecutors said.
Via, who had got out through an open window, was joined by a white male named Ares, who had managed to open the front door of the porch.
Ares approached them “boisterously and aggressively” and both dogs attacked Mr Price as neighbours and passers-by used cars, wheelie bins and other items to try to get them off him.
Mr Price’s wife, Heather, told police the animals were “absolutely ravaging” her husband.
He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but suffered severe blood loss and a cardiac arrest, and died of his injuries that evening.
One of the dogs died during the incident after being restrained, and the other was given a lethal injection by a vet inside Trimble-Pettitt’s flat.
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They were suffering from frustration, boredom and separation distress, all of which likely contributed to their “extreme” aggression, according to an expert witness instructed by the prosecution, who inspected the dogs’ living environment.
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The expert put the attack down to “a combination of genetic, behavioural and environmental influences exacerbated by poor management and supervision of the dogs”.
Large amounts of dog faeces were found in the front garden of Trimble-Pettitt’s property and living conditions were poor, with no toys and signs of “significant” damage where the dogs had chewed walls and scratched doors.
The dogs had been seen escaping from the property before, attacking other people and pets.
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The defendant, who was also banned from keeping dogs indefinitely by Judge John Edwards, had shown a “complete unwillingness to accept responsibility for the actions of his dogs,” prosecution counsel Peter Grieves-Smith said.
In a statement, Mrs Price said her husband’s death “shook me to my core. It made me question everything I believed. It ripped away every dream and plan I had for the future”.
