Grandmother has 100 stitches after being mauled by Staffordshire bull terrier

UNITED KINGDOM -- Margaret White, of Sidcup, nearly lost an ear and had to have more than 100 stitches. She was visiting a sick friend, Susan Molden, in Chislehurst, when she was attacked by the Staffordshire bull terrier last Friday.

Mrs White said when she knocked on the door, Mrs Molden's young granddaughter answered it and the dog came charging out and attacked her.

Help did not come until several minutes later when the child's mother, who had been in the shower, pulled the dog away.

Speaking from hospital, where she is being treated for face and neck injuries, Mrs White said: “It was terrifying. I was thinking how long is it going to be before they come out and get him off or am I just going to die here?'

"I curled up in a ball and covered my head so he couldn't get me, but he got through. If he'd got any further down my neck I would've been finished.”

Her granddaughter, Suzanne Page, 25, has set up a petition on the No 10 website calling for the Dangerous Dogs Act to be redrawn.

Mrs Molden, whose son William allegedly owns the dog, declined to comment. Police said there had been no arrests and the dog was not an illegal breed. They said the dog was still with the family but arrangements have been made for it to be destroyed.

(This is London - Feb 25, 2010)