Dog owner jailed after pets attack neighbors

By Ko Dong-hwan

A Seoul man whose Dojo Argentino, left, and Presa Canario escaped from his house and attacked neighbors was jailed on Sunday.

The owner of two dogs that attacked neighbors has been jailed.

Seoul Northern District Court sentenced the man, surnamed Lee, 32, to eight months’ jail without hard labor on Sunday for allowing his Presa Canario and Dogo Argentino to escape his house and injure the neighbors in June.

The dogs were in the front yard of Lee’s house in Dobong-gu, Seoul, when he left. The Dogo Argentino was on a leash wrapped around a pole while the Presa Canario was loose. The door had an electronic lock and a chain lock.

After Lee left, the Argentino broke free and both dogs managed to ram through the door. They bit two people who later required extensive medical treatment. Another person tripped while fleeing the dogs.

Emergency services killed the Dogo Argentino and captured the other dog.

The court said: “Living with dogs with a particular nature of assaulting humans requires taking precautionary measures and being responsible for the damage done when the dogs go out of control.”