CONVICTED (2020) | Paul Underwood, born c. 1972, and Nicola Muca (aka Nicki Underwood), born 20/01/1975, of Balmoral Avenue, Rushden NN10 – owners of an unsocialised Alaskan Malamute puppy who bit neighbours after straying twice from his home Irresponsible Nicola Muca and partner Paul Underwood are now banned from keeping dogs for five years Underwood and Muca were each given community orders and banned from keeping dogs for five years after being found guilty of having a dog dangerously out of control. The one-year-old dog, known as Thor, first came to the attention of police after biting a neighbour who tried to return him home in August 2019, before the same thing happened to a different neighbour three months later. Thor was seized from owners Underwood and Muca under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Neglected Alaskan Malamute Thor has been rehabilitated and will now be rehomed. Following an investigation and assistance from specially trained police officers, it became apparent that he hadn’t been socialised properly – he didn’t know how to play with dog toys, wasn’t toilet trained and was clearly used to an abusive environment where raised voices were the norm. He was in danger of being put to sleep but officers from Northamptonshire Police’s Dog Section persevered and successfully rehabilitated him. A rehoming centre is now in the process of finding him a home. PC Eva Horn, who assisted the investigating officers, said: “Thor certainly didn’t have the best start in life and we were determined to try our hardest to ensure he could get to a place where he was able to live the life he deserves. No-one invested in Thor to be a family dog and he was denied socialisation and training. “Thor reacted so well to our training and has now become a much more well-rounded dog – all he needed was some love and attention.” Sentencing: Underwood and Muca were each given 12-month community orders and banned from keeping dogs for five years (expires January 2025). BBC News