Sydney bridal designer Mary Ioannidis has been awarded more than $100,000 in damages after she was injured while rescuing her 11-year-old shih tzu, Lexi, from a brutal dog attack in Mortdale in April 2020.
Ioannidis was walking Lexi on a retractable lead when an unrestrained greyhound-Staffordshire bull terrier cross attacked.
The dog mauled Lexi and repeatedly lunged at Ioannidis as she struggled to protect her pet. “He kept running back and launching at me… he just didn’t stop,” she told the NSW District Court.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, the attack left Lexi with severe injuries, requiring her front left leg to be amputated at the shoulder.
Ioannidis sustained lacerations to her neck, chin, and hands, and was later diagnosed with PTSD.
Judge John Catsanos described the incident as a “violent and terrifying attack,” finding Ioannidis was directly wounded by the dog.
He ruled the owner of the attacking dog, Melissa Carretero, liable under the NSW Companion Animals Act and awarded Ioannidis $101,788.63 in damages, plus legal costs.
Although the court ruled damages for Lexi’s vet bills and psychological trauma caused by witnessing the attack on her dog were not claimable under the Act, Judge Catsanos said the attacks on Ioannidis and Lexi were “inextricably linked.”
Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
