HEAVILY pregnant Denise Mawby fears that magistrates will order that her dog should be destroyed after it bit an 11-year-old boy.

Mawby, 31, of Clarke Drive, High Wycombe, was found guilty on June 18 at Wycombe Magistrates' Court of allowing her dog to get dangerously out of control in public.

Magistrates, who are due to sentence Mawby for the offence on August 23, have a number of options including ordering the miniature Alsatian dog, Donna, should be destroyed.

Mawby, who is seven months pregnant, said she has had the dog for five years and has never known it to attack a child.

' I have five children myself. It's the first time the dog has bitten someone. I know what she is capable of and I would not let her out without a lead on.'

The 11-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he was walking past Mawby's house and heard her say to her dog 'Get him' and pointed at him.

He said: 'The dog chased me and it bit me.'

The youngster told the court how the dog mauled his leg before he escaped from its grip and ran home.

Once indoors, the youngster inspected the wound and burst into tears when he saw at least two deep tooth marks on the leg.

The boy was taken to Wycombe Hospital after the attack on January 16, 1999, where he received treatment for a 1.5cm gash in his right calf and other puncture wounds on his leg.

His mum says the boy now has a phobia about dogs and runs past Mawby's house if he thinks the dog is around.

She added: 'I'm just worried about the little ones running around. That dog could end up ripping someone's face off.'

Besides a possible destruction order on her dog, Mawby could also be disqualified from keeping a dog.