The veterinary nurse whose Siberian husky killed her three-month-old daughter avoids being fired as a disciplinary hearing is told that her conviction “does not disqualify her from practicing”

A veterinary nurse whose Siberian husky killed her three-month-old daughter has avoided being sacked after a disciplinary hearing was told her conviction “does not disqualify her from practicing”.

Karen Alcock was “forced” by her partner Vince King to join him in woodland near his home in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, to train his huskies, one of which killed her daughter Kyra Leanne King.

The baby suffered fatal injuries after Blizzard, described as a once “calm” and “placid” racing dog, mauled her.

Now the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has decided that the mother, who has been a veterinary nurse for 20 years, will be able to continue practicing.

Mrs Alcock pleaded guilty to keeping a dangerous dog last year and received an eight-month suspended sentence as well as 80 hours of unpaid work.

Her parents took their daughter out when she was just five days old to exercise the dogs at Ostler’s Plantation, a forest in Lincolnshire.

Three months later, a “pregnant and malnourished” Blizzard attacked Kyra in the horrific incident, which led to her death, the hearing was told.

The mother, a self-proclaimed animal lover, said the loss of her daughter in the “tragic event” had been “indescribable” but admitted she hoped to one day “go back to veterinary nursing.”

In a statement, Alcock said: “I accept that I pleaded guilty to the charge, however I would never have knowingly put Kyra at risk and I have suffered a personal loss that is unspeakable.”

‘I haven’t been able to work much, let alone in veterinary practice, since Kyra died, however, if I feel up to it, I would like to return to veterinary nursing at some point in the future.

‘I hope RCVS understands that Kyra’s death was a truly tragic event and not one I could have foreseen.

“I do not believe that what happened that night affects my fitness to practice as a veterinary nurse and I hope you will consider my conviction compassionately.”

Alex Jamieson represented the veterinary nurse and told the court: ‘Mrs Alcock has been left traumatized by the death of her daughter.

‘If the punishment was deserved, it would have already been punished through criminal proceedings.

When examined at police kennels, Blizzard was found to be a “calm and sociable, gentle and sensitive” pet who “wasn’t interested in playing with a toy, but did like human contact.”

But at the time of the attack, the husky, who was formally owned by King, was “pregnant and malnourished.”

Mr Jamieson added: ‘[Ms Alcock] She was co-responsible for a kind, well-behaved dog when an unforeseeable “tragic conjunction of circumstances” led to an outcome that will always haunt her.

‘The dog did not belong to Mrs Alcock.

“She did not want to be in the woods that night, but a violent, coercive and controlling partner induced her to do so.”

Nicole Curtis, representing the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, said: “At approximately 11.30pm that night, emergency services were called to Ostler’s Plantation, Kirkby Lane, Woodhall Spa.

‘[Ms Alcock’s] Her three-month-old daughter, Kyra, had been bitten by her Siberian husky dog ​​Blizzard.

“Tragically, Kyra’s injuries were so severe that the doctors treating her were unable to treat her and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died from multiple injuries to the head and neck, including a ruptured carotid artery.

“The attending doctors were unable to do anything at the time, both defendants had been invited and did what they could by CPR at the scene.”

The RSCV concluded: “The Committee is prepared to accept Mr Jamieson’s submission that there were no relevant mitigating factors in the case beyond the circumstances already described.”

At a trial last August, Lincoln Crown Court heard the animal jumped from the couple’s unsecured van and fatally mauled Kyra.

King received 10 months in prison, suspended for two years and 100 hours of unpaid work.

The couple first walked five of the dogs together while Kyra was pushed by her mother, before King took seven of the dogs on a sleigh ride.

When he returned from the sleigh ride, they placed three of the dogs in the center of the van to drink and rest, and closed the side door.

However, they were not enclosed in the kennels that the van was equipped with, and there was no protection separating the front of the cabin from the rear of the vehicle.

Kyra was standing next to the van’s front passenger door, which was open, when one of the huskies jumped into the cabin and exited the vehicle before savagely attacking her.

Alcock and King attempted to perform CPR on their daughter until paramedics arrived around 11:13 pm and, despite their best efforts, were unable to save her.

King and Alcock were arrested at the scene and charged after a lengthy investigation.

In court, a destruction order was made for the dog.