Family of judge who had her dog seized after attacks hit out

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Why are they trying to destroy my mother? Family of judge who had her dog seized after attacks hit out at 'injustice'

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The family of a senior judge who was arrested and had her dogs seized after they attacked three people in a year have insisted she is a victim of injustice.

They claim the pedigree German Shepherds belonging to Beatrice Bolton, a Crown Court judge, have never been aggressive and the wounds of those injured in the apparently random attacks were exaggerated.

Ms Bolton’s son Henry, 21, and foster daughter Nicky, 23, have spoken out now to voice their frustration that their mother has been portrayed as a ‘harridan’ who allowed dangerous dogs to run wild.

They are devastated that their precious pets are now living in a police pound and say Judge Bolton has been much maligned. They describe her as a warm-hearted woman who saved Nicky’s life by offering her a home to escape a troubled and violent background.

Rows between the family and their neighbours, who live in separate wings of a £1million 13th Century stone rectory, have shattered the peace in the picturesque rural village of Rothbury, Northumberland.

It began when neighbours David and Anne Malia, both in their 60s, claimed they were scared of the judge’s dogs, which they said terrorised them in their shared garden.

But the judge’s family say the pets are loving and friendly dogs who saw their neighbours as strangers who refused to engage with them.

It is hard to know who to believe. While it is clear the dogs are not killers, many people would consider their loud barking and circling presence rather threatening – particularly in a shared garden.
The couple allegedly refused the judge’s offer of a fence as it would split the ancient lawn and began keeping a ‘Dog Log’ of incidents.

Tensions came to a head when Anne’s son was scratched by the younger dog Georgie, and Judge Bolton was accused in court last December of failing to control her pet.

When the 57-year-old was found guilty and fined £2,500 it prompted an astonishing outburst during which she called the magistrates’ decision ‘a f****** tragedy’ and vowed never to set foot in a court room again.

Since then, a postman and another local man have also claimed to have been bitten and, last week, Judge Bolton was arrested and bailed while the cases are investigated.

True to her word, she has so far not sat again as a judge and Henry and Nicky say her faith in the justice system has been shaken after a distinguished 36-year career spent upholding the law.

Henry said: ‘It feels as if the powers that be are trying to ruin my mother’s life. She feels very unsupported by everyone. Now they’ve taken our dogs, who are portrayed as being rabid Hounds of the Baskervilles when they’re just family pets.

‘The dogs were never aggressive. Yes, they’re boisterous, but they’re not disobedient.’

Henry, who works for a telecommunications company, lives with his mother after his father, a barrister, left before he was born.

Nicky came to join them in 2009 after Judge Bolton suspected she was being abused and offered her a new home.

Nicky is now considered part of the family and plans to study law, inspired by the woman she sees as a mother, which will be funded by the judge.

She said: ‘I owe her everything. She’s been seen as some harridan and the truth couldn’t be more different – she’s a wonderful woman.’

The family always owned German Shepherd dogs and say it was not an issue until they bought a new puppy, Georgia, in 2008. When Nicky came to live with them, she brought her own German Shepherd, seven-year-old Winnie.

Nicky said: ‘He’s a total wimp.’ However, Georgie seemed to become a problem for the neighbours. Mr Malia, a manager of an engineering company, had married his new wife Anne in 2007.

Henry said: ‘When Georgie was around four months old she barked at Anne’s son. Anne’s hostile attitude became apparent. Every minor issue was followed by aggressive, threatening letters.

‘Mum suggested a fence but they refused and relations got steadily worse until she rang the police every time something happened.’

The Malias called police ten times, Henry says, and complained if either dog barked. They claimed a dog scratched their car and that they regularly fouled the garden.

A CCTV camera was installed and trained on the garden. On May 31 last year Georgie ran over to Anne’s 20-year-old son Frits who had been lying on the lawn.

Henry said: ‘She was barking, he kicked out at her and screamed, “f*** off”.

He said he’d been scratched and had a hole in his trousers. I did not see Georgie bite him. He definitely swung a kick at her.’

The Malias called the police and Judge Bolton was interviewed. She did finally put up a fence to avoid trouble and Georgie was booked into a dog training course in Wales, which cost her £900.

The case in December 2010 was heard by Carlisle magistrates because of Judge Bolton’s high-profile reputation in Newcastle legal circles. She was found guilty of failing to control her pet.

Henry said: ‘No one could understand why it got as far as it got. We thought, the injury’s so insignificant – what’s the public interest?

‘When Mum swore, she was muttering under her breath – it was despair. At that moment, she believed everything she had done for her country, for her family, had been wasted after 36 years of working in the legal system.’

The judge was distraught and took time away from her job. But despite the family’s protestation that the dogs were safe, there was a further complaint on April 9 this year.

Postman Kenneth Auld, 52, told police he had been bitten on the thigh while delivering mail at the Rectory.

Henry did not see what happened, but heard the dogs barking outside.

‘Mr Auld got in the van and drove away. He ranted at Mum but wouldn’t show her the injury.’

Nicky said: ‘We don’t know whether he was bitten. Winnie has never shown any signs of aggression, ever.’

Judge Bolton and Nicky were interviewed by police and the incident was still under consideration by the Crown Prosecution Service when officers knocked on the door on June 2.

They arrested Judge Bolton over a third incident, involving a 22-year-old local man who claimed he had been bitten the previous day.

Henry said: ‘Mum said Georgie was on the lead and she half jumped up to say hello to him, but didn’t get beyond his hip.’

Later that day, five policemen in a riot van and dog van arrived to remove the pets. Henry said: ‘We were all devastated.’

The family have not been allowed to see the dogs and do not know where they are being held or if they will get them back.

Judge Bolton, now on bail, must wait to see if she faces prosecution, and is being investigated by the judiciary. She could lose her job.

Mr Auld said he was not able to comment when approached at his home in nearby Morpeth.

But David and Anne Malia have expressed their relief that the dogs are now gone.

‘We don’t wish the family any ill,’ David said.

‘But our country home was turned into paradise lost because of Georgie in particular. She fouled the garden and, as she got bigger, she got more aggressive.

‘We didn’t want a fence because it would have ruined the ancient lawn, which has stood for centuries, and it wouldn’t solve the issue that Georgie was dangerous.

‘They refused our suggestions of putting the dogs on a long chain or using a muzzle.

‘We were forever being chased into the house and it made our lives absolute hell.’

[Wessex]

Where do you begin... They appear to be more in denial than an Egyptian crocodile.

[DGP1]

Where do you begin... They appear to be more in denial than an Egyptian crocodile.

Very witty.

It does read like the 'My dog wouldn't harm a fly' usually followed by 'it's never done that before' that I'm sure we've all had

[Darren Bent]

I think if the dog attack twice, or very vicious attack with several bites it need to be destroyed.

We have enough trouble in our jobs dealing with managers and rude customers and aggressive dogs. All we want to do the job without hassle or danger or absorbing nonsense.

[Post Off]

Truly, the Mail Online are c***s of the highest order, for they know how to twist and turn the knife of emotion upon their sad little readers.

Apparently, Judge Bolton is now a victim of an injustice. Yeah right!

...Erm, wasn't it the Mail Online who originally portrayed her as an evil bitch? Well, that's the impression I originally gleaned from their perspective. Now, if we are to be believed, she has been most maligned, indeed. I wonder now, by whom?

What a fugging load of bollix! You Mail Online folks must think we're c***s like you! I mean, here, you are presenting her (and her bitch dog) as being hopelessly misunderstood, that we should now believe you on this ocassion is to concur that you were either coerced in believing what you printed, or that you had little else of much worth to allow your sad readers to get their teeth into.

You know, you people, I think, are in the wrong business. Perhaps you should apply yourselves to the world of make believe. How about you take up a fictional writing role? Oh, I just remembered, you're s**t at writing too.

[andy2007]

I think if the dog attack twice, or very vicious attack with several bites it need to be destroyed.

We have enough trouble in our jobs dealing with managers and rude customers and aggressive dogs. All we want to do the job without hassle or danger or absorbing nonsense.

No. They need to be taken away from the irrisponsible and/or incompetent owners, retrained, and re-homed with competent and responsible owners. Why punnish the dogs, for their owners incompetance?

[clashcityrocker]

No. They need to be taken away from the irrisponsible and/or incompetent owners, retrained, and re-homed with competent and responsible owners. Why punnish the dogs, for their owners incompetance?

Sometimes retraining isn't an option.
Some dogs are bred to be aggressive, they are then trained to be aggressive and death is sometimes the safest option for everyone.

[Gazza90000]

She's nuts...Shes now been allowed to keep her 1 foot fence...i am sure it will keep the dogs from biting the memeber...