Preston Sellars suffered puncture wounds to his chest as the dog – believed to be an American Staffordshire Terrier – knocked him to the ground near Clifton Bridge and stood over him.
Amanda, of Carr Lane, off Boroughbridge Road, said today she feared the dog would now attack another child, and she urged its owner – or anyone who knew who it belonged to – to contact police.
She said if the dog had bitten Preston a few inches higher, he could have been left with permanent facial scarring.
She said: “As it is, he now flinches when we walk past a dog and are worried he will be mentally scarred.”
She revealed the wound had been left open and had to be dressed regularly, and Preston had been given antibiotics to ensure he did not get an infection from the dog’s mouth, and he had also had a tetanus jab.
She said: “I am speaking out because I can’t bear the thought of opening the paper or switching on the news in a week’s time and hearing a little kid’s been mauled by the same dog.”
She said the incident happened at about 4pm on Sunday on the riverbank just upstream of Clifton Bridge, not far from the RSPCA animal home.
“It was a nice day, so we decided to go for a picnic by the river, as Preston likes to watch people fishing.
“The dog was like a Staffy, only with long legs – I think it’s known as an American Staffordshire – and it had a collar with a name tag shaped like a bone.
“The dog was off its lead when it went up to my older son, Callum, who’s 11, and nipped his T-shirt. The man, who was in his 50s, saw what happened and put the dog on its lead, but it was quite a long lead and it just went for Preston.
“It knocked him on his back and was standing over him. I was screaming hysterically and the man dragged it off and then asked if I wanted a Kleenex, quite casually.
“I said ‘I think it’ll need more than a Kleenex,’ and then he said he hadn’t any transport and just walked off. I think if it was my dog that had done that, I would have felt like strangling it there and then.”
• North Yorkshire Police said the incident was in the early stages of investigation and it urged any witnesses in the area at the time – including the owner – to phone PC Wesley Cooper on 0845 6060247, quoting crime reference number 12110105980.
A police spokeswoman said: “All dog owners have a responsibility to ensure their animal is kept under control, which includes keeping it on a lead at all times in a public place.
“Allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control is an offence and can result in imprisonment or fine, or both.”
(York Press - June 28, 2011)
