Owner whose dogs were shot has more time to pay for sheep

The owner of a dog which attacked and killed sheep at three different farms in 2015 and 2016 appeared for sentence at Lanark Sheriff Court last Thursday,
One of the sheep killed on a Carluke farm by the huskyOne of the sheep killed on a Carluke farm by the husky
One of the sheep killed on a Carluke farm by the husky

However, Rochelle Purdie, 31, of Gair Crescent, Carluke, will have to wait a further six months to discover what her punishment will be.

At an earlier hearing, she pleaded guilty to being responsible for a husky which worried and killed sheep at Bogside Farm, Carluke, on December 18, 2015, at Hillhead Farm, Carluke on March 7, 2016, and at Bonnington Mains Farm, Lanark, on August 19 last year.

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On that last occasion, the farmer was forced to shoot the husky and another dog owned by Purdie.

Sentence was originally deferred on her in December last year for her to come up with suggestions for paying at least some compensation to the farmers, the total estimated cost of the lost stock amounting to a five figure sum.

On Thursday, a solicitor for Purdie told the court that her client, a single mum on benefits, had managed to raise £1,500 through the sale of her car.

The solicitor added that, since the death of her dogs, Purdie’s mental health had suffered and she was due to be assessed for psychotherapy.

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The day previous to her latest court appearance, she had suffered a seizure and ended up in Wishaw General Hospital, the court heard.

Sheriff Nikola Stewart said she would defer sentence further to Thursday, August 24, to allow Purdie to save towards a compensation order and to undergo psychological assessment.