Ex-ITV presenter's dogs seized after dog walker mauled to death returned to him

07 November 2023 , 07:28

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Glen Oglaza is a former Sky News and ITN presenter whose dogs were being walked by Ms Johnston at the time of the attack (Image: Sky News)

A former TV presenter will finally be reunited with his beloved dogs almost a year after they were seized following the horrific death of the woman walking them.

Ex-ITN and Sky News journalist Glen Oglaza, 68, has not seen six-year-old Labradoodle Cookie or 15-month-old Sheepadoodle Shadow since Natasha Johnston died in January. The 28-year-old from Croydon, south London was walking a pack of clients' dogs when she was killed by her own rescue dog Stan, a banned Pit Bull Terrier breed, which was put down following the attack in Caterham, Surrey.

Glen's dogs were seized by police and put in private kennels, where they have remained ever since. Surrey Police took the former newsman to court to put a Control Order in place under the Dogs Act 1871, which would mean his pets would need to be leashed in public and walked with no more than three other dogs for the rest of their lives.

Natasha Johnston was killed in the attack (Facebook)

But almost 11 months after the attack, a judge has ruled Oglaza can bring his pets home with no Control Order in place. In a civil hearing at Staines Magistrates Court in Surrey on Monday, District Judge Julie Cooper said it was accepted that "the pitbull was the one that caused the fatal injury."

But Alex dos Santos, counsel for Surrey Police, read out statements taken from witnesses at the time of the attack, which he said suggested Cookie and Shadow may also have been involved. One statement, from horse-rider Susan Dove, who witnessed Natasha lying on the ground surrounded by dogs, said: "Four of them had a firm grip on her with their mouths. They were around her arms, pulling on her arms and jacket. It was a frenzy. The dogs had seen red and there was no stopping them. Two of the dogs ran towards me which spooked my horse and caused me to fall off."

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The scene of the fatal attack in January (Surrey Live/BPM Media)

Mr dos Santos suggested that while there is no forensic evidence to indicate either dog was involved in attacking Natasha, there was "pack activity." Consulting expert witness Dr Alison Robson, a small animal practitioner who examined the dogs and the bite wounds on Natasha's body, the court heard that there wasn't a single injury which could be specifically linked to one dog.

Based on Ms Robson's report, Mr dos Santos told the court: "It's clear in my submission, this was not purely or solely the act of one dog." He added: "The evidence infers to four of them at one point having a firm grip on Miss Johnson.

"Even though there's no certainty about which dog did what, I cannot exclude them from the outcome. There was evidence of group activity by the dogs. There's clear evidence of a number of dogs acting in a dangerous way, from which they cannot be excluded." He concluded: "In my submission, it's not disproportionate that those dogs should be limited to three in number and on leads."

Mr Oglaza gets his dogs back on Tuesday, 10 months after the attack (Sky News)

Defence counsel Pamela Rose argued that the dogs seen running away from the scene of the attack, towards the horse riders, met the description of Shadow and Cookie, with a dog behavioural expert admitting she didn't test the dogs to see how they acted in a pack.

Expert witness Helen Howell said: "There was nothing in the statements that led me to believe Shadow had behaved dangerously either. In my view the dogs behaved in the way that I would consider most pet dogs to behave in these circumstances."

District Judge Mrs Cooper said: "I haven't heard evidence that Cookie and Shadow were dangerous on the day. What I have heard in relation to this is speculation and assumption." She added: "Looking at those horrendous circumstances - it's so out of the ordinary.

"I would hope it's unique and that those type of circumstances will never happen again. In light of those circumstances, I do not grant the order to be made. I do advise the owner to take care. I am sure his dogs will not be going out with a dog walker with multiple dogs again."

Emily-Jane Heap