Dino, a 5yr old German Shepherd had got into a fight in a local park with a cross terrier on the 9th January and during the scuffle the terrier’s owner received a bite to her hand whilst separating the two dogs. Dino was said to have been the dog which bit the hand during the fracas and the only witness was the owner of the other dog.

Magistrates Court: Dino was sentenced to die by Northampton Magistrates Court on the 24th July 2001. Following the incident on the 9th January 2001, owner Mr Lamont was charged with an aggravated offence under Section Three of the DDA (dog dangerously out of control in a public place) and advised by the original solicitor to plead guilty, which he did. Mr Lamont received a £100 fine, was ordered to pay £2552 in compensation and Dino was surprisingly sentenced to death.

Crown Court: Following on from the Magistrates Court hearing, owners Carole and Bryan Lamont asked Trevor Cooper (specialised in dog law) to take their case and he lodged an Appeal which was heard by Northampton Crown Court on 14th September 2001.

Despite several reports testifying to Dino’s excellent temperament, the fact that he had never before been involved in any type of incident, had never shown any form of aggression to anyone or any other dog, Recorder Edelman upheld the decision stating that “Dino had attacked the other dog without any provocation and continued to pose a danger to public safety”.

High Court Appeal: Dino’s determined family didn’t relinquish their quest for justice and to save Dino's life. Mr Cooper sought permission to appeal to the High Court for a Judicial Review, this was refused on the 8th October 2001, a renewed application was submitted and this was refused in November 2001; Judges Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Crane upheld the decision as they felt that both the Crown and Magistrates Court had acted reasonably and correctly by issuing a destruction order-as there is no way of proving that Dino will not bite again.

The High Court rejected the request for a Judicial Review but agreed the Lords should be given an option to hear the case.

Lords: On the 19th December their Lordships agreed to certify three “points of law of general public importance”. The Dino case ruling alongside the DDA 1997 Amendment could be examined by the very highest Court in the UK—the House of Lords. The legal defence team where given until 3rd January to lodge the petition with the Lords Legal Committee, the committee has three options available to it; it can grant leave to appeal to the Lords, call for an oral hearing to determine the merits of the case if undecided or refuse leave to appeal to the Lords.

The legal team comprising Trevor Cooper, Lord Gifford and Shiraz Rustom where invited to pose three questions to the Lords. Part of the questions asked whether the DDA was compatible with the rights of all citizens to quiet enjoyment of their private property (their dog), under the European Convention on Human Rights. The questions lodged to the House of Lords considered the detailed points of the ruling.

It was argued by the defence that the High Court ruling would set a precedent that the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 was fatally flawed; because if a dog is not a danger to the public and the court has accepted that it will not bite again, then it should be found not guilty. Trevor cooper explained that a legal precedent for all future cases will be set - if a dog's owner cannot prove that the dog is not a danger to public safety, then it should be destroyed, the 1997 Amendment for aggravated section three cases would be "dead in the water".

In preparation Mr Cooper had complied a collection of 40 similar Section 3 DDA cases post DDA Amendment that had resulted in a ‘guilty’ verdict. In these cases only five out of 40 had received destruction orders.