Colleen Hutchinson admitted she was lucky to be alive after the Staffordshire bull terrier clamped its jaws around her face in the Wheatley area of Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
She and her fiancé were helping neighbours move a shed in their garden when the dog grabbed hold of her for a few seconds, which was enough to leave large cuts on her face.
Miss Hutchinson said: ‘I was absolutely terrified. If it had got my jugular vein I could have died.
'I am lucky to be alive. I couldn't believe a family pet would do that. I bent down to move a plant pot and the dog just bit me.’
Her fiancé, Johnnie Gravil, 43, added: ‘She had cuts on her head, chin and around her eyes.
'We took her straight to Doncaster Royal Infirmary but they said the injuries were so severe we should go to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.
‘She had an operation to repair her eyelid and the doctors said she might have to have more surgery depending on how her wounds heal.’
The couple - who have been together for 14 years and engaged for 10 years - are now looking at taking legal action against the owners of the dog, Leyland, which was put down after the incident.
Miss Hutchinson and Mr Gravil are proud owners of their Jack Russell dogs Mutley, two, and five-month-old Gnasher.
Doctors told Miss Hutchinson that it could take up to a year for her eye to open - and she is expecting to know more following a hospital visit on Friday.
Leyland's owners said they were responsible pet owners and claimed Miss Hutchinson had been teasing the dog ahead of the attack last Monday - but she denies this.
[What's the saying about "no good deed...?" This woman is HELPING her neighbor, gets attacked by the neighbor's dog and the neighbor blames her. Nice.]
Miss Hutchinson said: 'I would not tease a dog which I had been told had become grumpy, I know what not to do to a dog, being a dog owner myself.'
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘Police were made aware of a dog attack in a private, rear garden at the property of its owners on Durham Road, Wheatley, on August 12.
‘The owners of the dog reported the incident to the police and on the same day the dog was put to sleep a few hours later. Officers investigated the incident and there is no further police action to be taken as the owners took all the positive action soon after the incident.
‘The victim of the attack has been advised to contact Citizens Advice should she wish to take the matter further and pursue civil action.’
Forty miles away on Sunday, a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured by an American Bulldog called Patch in an attack while he visited relatives in the Little Horton area of Bradford, West Yorkshire.
(Daily Mail UK - Aug 21 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment