XL bully dog owner breaks down in tears after attack left son's friend with 'catastrophic injuries'
XL bully dog owner breaks down in tears after attack left son's friend with 'catastrophic injuries' (Stock image)
PA
A four-year-old boy was left with "catastrophic facial injuries" after an XL bully dog attacked him as he attempted to see if his friend wanted to play.
The young boy now suffers from flashbacks and painful headaches following the savage attack in Norris Green, Liverpool.
Stacey Smith, who wept during the court hearing, was arrested and interviewed by the police on the day of the attack.
A court heard that a female dog called Nola mauled the boy's head and face after he entered Smith's front garden to see if her son was free to play.
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On August 12 last year, the boy opened the front gate and entered the garden at around 7pm.
Nola, who belonged to Smith's partner at the time, then launched her attack on the young boy.
Helen Chenery, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the boy's mum, who was walking behind him, started screaming and "ragging" the dog to get it off her son.
After a "great deal of shouting and screaming", a number of neighbours came running to help.
Local woman, Mirislava Zaloudakova is then said to have pulled back Nola's neck while shouting "no" at the dog.
Another neighbour, Kieran Corran ran to the garden armed with a golf club and swung it repeatedly at the dog after his partner shouted: "The dog has the baby, you have to get the baby".
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He then picked up the boy and was "trying to close the wounds with his hands while rushing to the nearest car".
The court heard that Smith was "in panic" and stood inside her home address throughout the assault dressed only in a towel.
The four-year-old was driven to Aintree University Hospital, but was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.
He had a right temporal depressed fracture along with multiple facial lacerations and he needed a muscle graft to repair the most severe injuries.
A victim impact statement from the boy's mum said: "The dog's tooth punctured his head. Medics told us if it had gone 1cm deeper then he would be dead".
The statement continued that the boy "won't have a normal childhood" because of the attack and at school he has been the victim of bullying due to his injuries.
XL puppies sell for over £2,500 in the UK, however recent high-profile attacks involving the dogs have caused many to call for the dogs to be banned (stock image)
Wikimedia Commons LicencesShe said: "He is just not the same child he used to be, both psychologically and physically. He cries out in his sleep, 'get the dog away from me'.
"He continues to suffer both physically and mentally...it is heartbreaking for us. Every time I close my eyes I can see the attack and I am reliving it. I feel sick and wish it was me."
Nola was seized by police and euthanised.
Smith pleaded guilty to being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury at the lower court on May 16 this year.
Addressing Smith, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "In my judgement, you should never have been in charge of the dog. However, in my judgement the fault may lie elsewhere."
Smith was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. She will have to carry out 20 rehabilitation days and 60 hours unpaid work as well as pay a surcharge.