The owner of a dog that attacked a family in Marbella’s San Pedro on Tuesday (January 27) has been arrested.
The 53-year-old Spaniard was detained at around 3am on Saturday, according to police sources cited by Diario Sur.
He had been identified by the chip in the dog – a three-year-old Belgian Malinois – which was captured and sent to the Triple A kennels following the incident.
The owner, originally from Granada, was spotted in a BMW car near the Avenida del Mediterraneo in San Pedro de Alcantara.
He told officers that he had been sleeping inside the vehicle when the dog escaped several days prior to the attack, and that he had been trying to locate it.
He said he usually secured the animal by attaching a chain to the handbrake, and that the pet may have jumped out of the front left window that had been partially open ‘due to a fault’.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injuries through gross negligence, following formal complaints filed by the victims.
He could face fines ranging from €500 to €30,000, depending on the seriousness of the charges brought, for an alleged breach of Marbella’s municipal by-laws governing the keeping of animals.
The dog was transferred to the Triple A Marbella animal shelter.
It will remain in quarantine at the facility while an inspector carries out the necessary assessments to determine whether it should be formally classified as aggressive or is fit to live safely in society.
What happened during the attack?
A mother and her two young children were allegedly attacked by the dog while walking along the promenade in San Pedro de Alcantara, at around 6pm on Tuesday.
The woman shared a series of photos via the local community Instagram page Marbellasequeja.
They showed the injuries sustained by her young son and a huge gash in the arm of the man she claims ‘saved their lives’.
The unnamed mother said: ‘My children and I are alive thanks to a brave man who stood between us and a rampaging dog. My eldest son, only nine years old, was bitten.
‘The animal attacked like a hungry wolf, relentlessly, with terrifying aggression. Even when we managed to take refuge inside a building, it kept trying to attack.
‘If we can tell this story today, it’s thanks to a true HERO who didn’t hesitate to risk his life for the children and their mother.’
She addd: ‘Ivan suffered deep bites on both arms and legs when he stood between the dog and us.
‘The wounds are serious and real. He did it without thinking, with a bravery we will never forget.
‘It’s incomprehensible that such an animal is allowed to roam free in a place full of families, children, and tourists. And even more incomprehensible is that the owner didn’t come forward or see what had happened.’
She said that her comments were ‘not an attack on animals’ but an ‘urgent call for responsibility.’
‘Today it was my children, tomorrow it could be any child,’ she said.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
