Rabid dogs with no vaccinations: Real Madrid star on trial after bloody attack on a minor
Mendy's dogs kill a dog and injure a minor
Madrid's criminal court has set 21 December for the start of the trial of Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy, who stands accused over a bloody attack carried out by his dogs on a 17-year-old minor.
Prosecutors want the France international fined 1,200 euros and ordered to compensate the victims to the tune of 5,700 euros.
A procedural order issued on 1 October, reported by Spanish newspaper "Sport", confirms the session will be held at the courthouse on Julian Camarillo street in Madrid. All parties have been summoned: Mendy, the witnesses, the experts and the victims. The player will give his testimony with the help of a French interpreter.
The tale of four escaped dogs and a tragic ending
It all goes back to the afternoon of 4 January 2023, when four of Mendy's dogs got out of his home in Alcobendas after he failed to shut the gate securely.
One of them reached a residential area and went for a woman's dog as she walked it, savaging the animal so badly that vets had to put it down.
Worse was to follow. A 17-year-old walking his own dog saw what was happening and rushed to the woman's aid. He became the next victim.
The dog bit into his left leg with real force, leaving four scars, some of them up to two centimetres in diameter. He needed an operation and took 30 days to recover.
His dog suffered too, bitten on the neck and chest and losing one of its teeth. Urgent surgery followed.
Gross negligence and unvaccinated dogs
Prosecutors have accused Mendy of negligence in explicit terms, stating that he "neglected to exercise due care, and did not take the precautions expected of a person diligent in looking after large animals, by failing to make sure the gate was securely closed after the vehicle had entered".
That negligence, they added, "caused the dogs to escape from the enclosure and to remain loose in the street for an indeterminate period, creating a dangerous situation for people and other animals".
Investigators turned up another surprise. All four of the player's dogs "were not fitted with electronic identification microchips, did not carry the compulsory liability insurance, and had not received the rabies vaccination".
The Alcobendas judge who referred Mendy for trial has called the injured young man to testify, along with his father, the owner of the injured dog and the owner of the dog that was put down. The Alcobendas police officers who dealt with the incident will also appear.
