A dog trainer whose Rottweiler injured an 11-month-old baby on a family outing at the Ta’ Qali National Park was acquitted of criminal charges today after all evidence showed that the child’s grandmother had brought about the unfortunate incident.

Robert Bugeja, 30, from Mqabba, a dog-trainer for the last five years faced criminal action for the injuries suffered by the child on account of his alleged negligence in handling his pet dog.

However, in the course of the proceedings, a somewhat different picture of the whole incident emerged which led the court to exonerate the accused of all responsibility.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, presiding over the case, observed that one September morning last year, the child’s family had been on an outing to the park when they came across the accused who was seated on a bench, with his two pet dogs close by.

One of these was a very ‘friendly’ Labrador which was roaming about freely, while the other animal, a Rottweiler, was being kept on a leash.

Observing the ‘obedient’ pets, the victim’s family had approached their owner who warned them not to touch the Rottweiler.

Yet the grandmother bent down, placing the baby on the back of the Labrador, the court was told. Just as the woman was about to hand the child back to the boy’s mother, the Rottweiler sprung into action, possibly frightened by the woman’s movement, snapping at the baby’s nappy.

The bleeding child was rushed to hospital by his frantic relatives where he was certified as having suffered a laceration when the dog’s teeth bit through the nappy.

A court-appointed medical expert certified that the child had suffered slight injuries to the scrotum which, though requiring suturing, had not given rise to further complications.

After assessing all the evidence and after hearing several witnesses, the court concluded that the unfortunate episode had indeed been sparked off by the fact that the victim’s relative had placed the ‘helpless’ child too close to the Rottweiler.

“The blame does not lie upon the owner who went out with his two dogs, but rather on the grandmother who, thoughtlessly approached the [Labrador] to pat it,” observed the court, adding that the accident could have led to far more serious consequences.

The court acquitted the dog owner of all criminal responsibility related to the incident.

Lawyers Joseph Gerada, Charlon Gouder and Jonathan Attard were defence counsel.