A man is to stand trial accused of leaving three dogs in a hot car for two hours in the middle of summer.
Mark Agyeman-Anane, 26, is charged with three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal – three dogs called Prince, Dior and Caramel.
The charge says on 10 August last year he left the dogs in a hot car in Portslade for two hours without access to water and failed to regularly check on the dogs’ welfare.
Agyeman-Anane, who now lives in Lewisham but who formerly lived in Church Road, Hove, is also charged with possessing a dangerous dog because the prosecution says Caramel is a pit bull terrier.
However, he claims she is in fact an American bulldog.
His trial was due to start at Brighton Magistrates Court today, but was adjourned after the defence asked for more time to prove that Caramel is not a pit bull.
The court was told the woman who used to own Caramel has a piece of paper from the police which states she’s not a dangerous dog – but that Agyeman-Anane had not been able to get hold of this since he pleaded not guilty on April 8.
He asked for more time to find it – or failing that, to appoint his own expert to assess what kind of breed the dog is.
The prosecution said that the police’s expert had deemed Caramel to be a pit bull – and added the other two dogs were too young to be accurately assessed last August, but appeared to be of a similar breed.
If three-year-old Caramel is found to be a dangerous dog, she will be destroyed. She and the younger dogs are currently being held in kennels pending the outcome of the case.
The trial will now take place in the autumn.
