UNITED KINGDOM -- A 13-year-old girl was in hospital on Wednesday after being bitten by a stray dog in a Tayside park.
Amy Adams was attacked by what she described as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in a park in Arbroath.
She sustained a puncture wound to her hand, which became infected, and was in surgery for four hours.
Amy was treated at Arbroath Royal Infirmary on Tuesday afternoon but the infection had travelled up her arm.
She was then rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to see the specialist plastic surgery team.
Amy’s grandmother Anne-Marie Thomson, 60, said: “She was in the park at the Saltire in Arbroath, around there, on Monday. She jumped off the swing and the dog attacked her. The dog was a Staffie.
“They walked her up to the infirmary at 12pm yesterday and she was sent to Ninewells. I’m still trying to find out if she knows the dog. She has a bite on her hand, the problem was the infection tracking up her arm.
“She went into theatre at one o’clock last night and she left at five o’clock this morning. She’s on antibiotics and they will keep an eye on her for 24 hours.”
Asked how Amy was coping with the situation, Anne-Marie said: “It’s harder for Amy - she’s a child.”
Amy attends Arbroath High School.
A spokesman for Police Scotland Tayside Division said: “A 13-year-old girl was bitten by a dog in a park in Arbroath.
“She attended Arbroath Royal Infirmary and then Ninewells Hospital to see a plastics team. The dog appears to have been a stray Staffie. The girl’s suffered a puncture wound to her hand, but the infection spread up her arm. We got the call just after 6.15pm yesterday. The person who reported it to us was a charge nurse at Ninewells Hospital. The girl was due to be operated on.”
Police confirmed their inquiries were continuing.
Locals have expressed outrage at the situation. Arbroath councillor David Fairweather said the dog that bit the girl needs to be found and caged as a priority.
He said: “It’s dreadful, especially if it was a stray that bit her. It has been highlighted time and time again by local sanctuaries that we have a number of these stray dogs in the town.
“They have been kicked out by an irresponsible owner. These dogs are not under control and it will lead to sad incidents like what’s happened to this poor young girl.
“I hope the police make it a priority to find the dog that did this. It needs to be found and caged as quickly as possible. If it has bitten once, it is likely it will bite again.”
(Evening Telegraph - Aug 22 2013)
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