Simon McKinley endured a savage 15 minute attack during which his right arm was mauled and his left ear was ripped off.
He was left with 40 puncture wounds in his arm, where the bones in his wrist and a tendon in his thumb were badly damaged. His partner Alaina Noble was also hurt as she tried desperately to pull Tyson away.
It was only when police arrived at their home in Dorset Walk, Westtown, that the dog was brought under control.
Mr McKinley said: “I was on the bed stroking him and suddenly he just went. It was just like turning a light switch.”
Tyson sunk his teeth into Mr McKinley’s left ear and right arm as he tried to push the dog away.
“He just came back for more,” he said. “He was not giving in.”
Mr McKinley, 38, blacked out twice during the attack.
“Everyone else said it had been going on for about 15 minutes or so, but I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. Miss Noble added: “Me and the police were trying to get the dog out of the bedroom and he went for me.
“It’s put me off having another dog for life.”
While the couple were taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield for treatment, police took Tyson into kennels.
Mr McKinley had an operation on his arm the following day, and is due to have the first of three operations to partially reconstruct his left ear today.
He has lost 50 per cent of his hearing in that ear, but was told it could improve over the next five years.
And he must undergo physiotherapy to help return movement to his right wrist.
Miss Noble, 40, needed seven stitches to a cut on her face.
Mr McKinley said: “They said some people, believe it or not, want to keep the dog, but I said he should be destroyed. It was hard but I couldn’t have had him back. I’m just glad it was me and not a kid. The police said a kid wouldn’t have survived these injuries.”
The couple got Tyson in July when he was around 18 months old. Mr McKinley said his temperament had always been very good, but it had fought with another dog a few weeks earlier.
A neighbour had been on the phone to police reporting an argument at the New Year’s Eve party when the attack began at around 7.15pm.
But Mr McKinley said he did not believe the argument was the trigger. He said Tyson had later been found to have distemper – a viral disease – which he believed had made it act aggressively. It also transpired that Tyson had not been given the recommended vaccinations for parvo or distemper.
Mr McKinley said: “I’d like people to know that if they’re going to buy any dog, particularly a Staffy, they should make sure they don’t make the mistake I made. I should have asked for a breed certificate and vaccination records, but I took it on trust.”
[Yes, that's what made your pit bull attack you -- b/c it wasn't vaccinated. I'm sure that everyone else attacked by their pit bulls will now be declaring this is the reason. Geez.]
(Dewsbury Reporter - Jan 11, 2014)
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