A dog owner, whose pet attacked a postwoman, has been cleared of any wrongdoing by a Magistrates’ Court, which declared it had simply been an unfortunate incident where the animal was shocked and had reacted instinctively.

Ivan Tallarini was criminally prosecuted over the incident which took place in December 2011. The postwoman was bitten by the dog as she was slipping the accused’s mail into his post box.

The dog sprung at the woman, biting her left hand and causing her an injury which resulted in a 3% disability. Although the wound had healed, the victim was left with a lingering pain in her injured hand.

During criminal proceedings, both the accused and his partner testified how on that fateful morning, just as they were about to leave home with their dog, they had suddenly come across the postwoman outside their front door.

The postwoman was wearing black and a thick jacket, with her face covered by a crash helmet.

It was when the woman was putting mail into their letterbox that the dog jumped at her, biting her on the hand. After wrenching the animal away, the couple had allegedly assisted the victim, administering first aid.

The accused and his partner insisted that the dog was a mild-tempered animal with no past history of aggressive behaviour and had probably reacted in such an unusual manner on account of being shocked by the sudden appearance of the figure in black.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, said the animal's “sudden manoeuvre had been totally unpredictable,” and on the basis of all evidence, declared that there had been no negligence or other shortcomings on the part of the owner.

Nor had the prosecution specified which regulations, if any, the accused had violated when handling his pet, which had passed away since the episode.

“This was simply an unfortunate incident where the postwoman happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and dressed in a manner which had evidently shocked the dog which reacted instinctively,” the court declared, clearing the accused of all charges.