MAGISTRATES have issued a warrant for the arrest of dog owner Denise Mawby after hearing she goaded her pet to chase after and bite an 11-year-old boy.

Mawby, 31, of Clarke Drive, High Wycombe, who is seven months pregnant, did not turn up at Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Tuesday when the youngster who was bitten was called to give evidence against her.

She was found guilty in her absence of allowing her dog to get dangerously out of control in public.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that 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. I thought it was just a scratch on my leg.'

The youngster told the court how the dog, called Donna, mauled him on 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 his leg.

After the court hearing the boy's mum said her son now had a phobia about dogs and ran past Mawby's house if he thought the dog was around.

She said: 'Before this my son loved dogs, but now he is scared.

'If he doesn't know the dog he will run home.

'This dog looks like a wild Australian Dingo and I am afraid the dog will rip a child's face right off if something is not done.

'I just don't want to see some other child getting attacked like my son.'

She said: 'My son looked at his leg and saw bite marks and a lot of blood and holes in his leg where the dog had bitten him and started screaming.'

Balbir Seyan, prosecuting, said 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.

Four stitches were needed in the wound and the youngster was given antibiotics to protect him from any diseases the dog may have been carrying.

PC Barry Payne, of High Wycombe police, was first on the scene after the attack in January last year.

He said he had seen the dog after visiting Mawby's home, adding: 'I have seen the dog and it was coming straight up to the door and trying to break it down. It is not a nice dog at all.'

Chief magistrate Jean Taylor issued a warrant for the arrest of Mawby after finding her guilty.

She added that custody was something magistrates would have to consider when Mawby appears to face sentencing.