The owner of two American bulldogs that attacked a 14-year-old boy has been given a 4-month prison sentence, two months suspended.

The woman (59) had appealed against an earlier two-week suspended sentence and 120 hours of community service but will now spend two months in prison. She is also banned from keeping dogs for the next 10 years.

The attack happened on May 19 at an industrial estate in Nieuwegein. The dogs, which were unmuzzled and unleashed, caused the boy to fall off his bike and then bit him 41 times.

He was taken to hospital for treatment and “has been scarred for life”, the judge said in his verdict. The woman had shown a “marked lack of care” and was “negligent”, he said, particularly since the dogs had attacked before.

In the Netherlands there is no law that demands dogs be muzzled although owners may be required to muzzle their dog after a biting incident.