'Big Daddy', a pit bull cross, mauled five people when he suddenly went berserk.
The 6st dog turned on owner Jean Vittemer. [6 stone is about 80 pounds]
And when four neighbours - including a pregnant woman - went to help, they were savaged too.
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| Big Daddy even attacked his owner |
Police officers were forced to hide in a bin chute cupboard to escape the snarling beast.
Businessman Donnacha Mac Gloinn, 38, who was bitten on the thigh, said: "It was terrifying.
"The dog went insane and was biting everyone in sight. Its face was covered in blood."
Big Daddy turned as Jean, 43, went to collect him from his nextdoor neighbour Jamie Jenkinson.
Jamie, 23, had been looking after the dog while Jean was ill but when he went to hand him over, Big Daddy sank his teeth into his arms and his back.
The dog also bit Jean in the stomach and arm.
Jamie said: "He was trying to eat me. I was trying to fight him off but I didn't have power in my arms because he had bitten me.
"I was fighting for my life. I got hold of a snooker cue and hit him with it. He didn't even bat an eyelid."
Jean, said he had owned the three-year-old dog for two years and he had been a good pet.
He said: "I don't know what happened to him but I hate him for what he has done.
"I ran into my flat to try and get a weapon. I would have killed him if I could."
Jamie's girlfriend Nikki, 38, who is three months pregnant, was also mauled. It is understood she suffered a dislocated shoulder after Big Daddy rushed at her.
Ian Nolan, 41, was bitten in the arm when he opened his door.
Tesco worker Ian, a former Army dog handler, said: "I heard a racket and recognised the voices of my neighbours.
"I grabbed a metal pole and ran outside.
There was blood everywhere. The dog was going absolutely mental."
Special dog handlers eventually arrived and seized Big Daddy.
A police spokeswoman said: "The dog will be destroyed. Inquiries are ongoing into the incident."
The drama happened around 3.30am. The five people who were bitten were treated in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Residents in the council-owned block - known as the banana flats - in Leith, Edinburgh, said they had been worried about Big Daddy for some time.
One neighbour said the dog's favourite toy was a full-size car tyre which it swung round its neck.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said: "If this had happened in the daytime when there were kids about, things could have been even worse."
(Daily Record - December 03, 2011)
