Herbert Dillas was given a conditional discharge yesterday for causing unnecessary suffering to his injured Pit Bull dog by failing to get it medical attention.

Dillas denied in Magistrates' Court that he put his female dog in a fight, but said it got into a scrap with his other male Pit Bull over a tennis ball.

Dillas, 29, of Railway Trail, Southampton, said the dog, which he said was chained up while the male was loose, only received "a few cuts and needed a few shots".

But Crown counsel Sharika Dill said there were four deep puncture wounds and 15-20 smaller wounds. "It was more than a few cuts," she said.

Ms Dill said Police and the dog warden called at Dillas' house in June 2001 and found the Pit Bull with a wash cloth on its right front leg and it was limping. There was no one around, she said.

The dog was taken to the animal hospital and bandaged up and found to have four deep puncture wounds and up to 20 smaller wounds, which had puss in them.

The dog warden contacted Dillas, who hung up the phone on him, then drove off in his car when the warden tried to speak to him outside the Traditions Restaurant in Middle Road, Southampton, on July 17, 2001, said Ms Dill.

Dillas admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by failing to get it medical attention.

He said he had a vet who dealt with his dogs, but a neighbour had told the authorities the dog had been fighting. "I did have a dog that needed medical attention, but I had a vet coming to the house to deal with it," he said.