Friday, August 30, 2013

Boy, 5, has leg ripped open by pit bull

UNITED KINGDOM -- A five-year-old boy was left needing  surgery after he was attacked by a dog  outside his home.

Mum Mellissa O’Hare, 31, said son Owen  Maguire was playing in the front garden of  their home on Corinto Street, Toxteth, on  Tuesday afternoon when the dog bit him in  the leg.

She said: “He was playing with a  neighbour’s child and his sister and little  brother. This lad came past with his dog on a  lead and I had the decorators in so he stopped to talk to the decorator.


 
“The next thing I heard was Owen  screaming. The dog must have had hold of his leg  for 40 seconds, if not a minute.

“The lad dragged the dog off, stayed  there for a minute and then got off and I  phoned an ambulance.”

She added: “I can’t even really  remember what happened because I was  panicking so much but I remember having  Owen in my arms, pulling his trackie  bottoms up and there just being blood  everywhere.”

The dog, thought to be a  Staffordshire bull terrier, was  later destroyed by police.

Owen was taken to Alder Hey  Hospital and yesterday he was  waiting for surgery on his leg.

Mellissa said: “The cut is  right down to the bone. They’re  not sure yet whether there is  muscle damage but he is having  to have surgery. He’s got bruised ribs as well  where the dog has tried to drag  him.


“I think he is in shock, he  doesn’t want to see another dog  and I don’t think he’ll want to go  into the front garden when we  get home.”

She added: “The man told the  kids to stay away from the dog so  he must have known it wasn’t  safe.

“I think it should have been  wearing a muzzle. If the owners  knew the dog could be dangerous around  children they should have had it destroyed  before or given it to someone to look after it  properly.”

Merseyside Police said officers were  called to Corinto Street at about 12.50pm on  Tuesday.

A police spokesman said the dog, which  was not thought to be a banned breed, was  handed over to police and destroyed.

(Liverpool Echo - Aug 29 2013)

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