A four-year-old boy will “by no means have a traditional childhood” after he was savaged by an XL bully, inflicting “catastrophic facial accidents” which left him 1cm from demise, a court docket heard.
The canine, referred to as Nola, had been on the home of Stacey Smith, 32, in Norris Green, Liverpool. The canine, which belonged to her then-partner, had been there for 10 days when it attacked the boy within the entrance backyard in August final yr.
Helen Chenery, prosecuting, informed Liverpool Crown Court that the sufferer, who lived on the identical avenue, had been round Smith’s home a number of occasions that day to see if her son was there. However, on an additional go to, the canine burst out of the open entrance door and latched its jaws round his head.
Chenery informed the court docket that the boy’s mom, who was walking behind him, began screaming and “ragging” the canine to get it off her stricken son.
Neighbour Mirislava Zaloudakova pulled again the canine’s neck and prised it away, forcing it in direction of the again backyard.
The court docket heard Smith stood inside her home all through the assault, dressed solely in a towel. She was mentioned to have been in a “panic”.
‘Danger to our communities’: Read extra
The court docket was informed the boy had a proper temporal depressed fracture together with a number of facial lacerations. He wanted a muscle graft to restore essentially the most extreme accidents. All the scarring will likely be everlasting, although it’s anticipated to fade over time. He can also be persevering with to undergo with extreme complications and flashbacks.
The boy’s mother and father, who have been each in court docket, left the room whereas photographs of his accidents have been proven, whereas Smith sat along with her head in her fingers.
In a sufferer impression assertion, the boy’s mom mentioned: “The dog’s tooth punctured his head. Medics told us if it had gone 1cm deeper then he would be dead.”
She said her son “won’t have a normal childhood” because of the attack and he has been bullied at school due to the injuries.
“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.”
The dog was seized by police and euthanised.
Chenery said Smith – who earlier this year pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury – had no convictions and was of previous good character, but that she “failed to intervene” during the attack.
‘You should never have been in charge of the dog’
In mitigation, defence barrister Daniel Travers admitted Smith was not a “robust person” and did not make the best choices. However, he told the court she would not have allowed the dog to be around her son if she had any suspicion it would be dangerous, adding “nothing could have been foreseen” about the incident.
Judge David Aubrey told the court: “There has been much public debate regarding dogs of this breed, if it be a breed.
“It is not for this court to comment on issues raised in public debate. This court is to apply the relevant law.” He noted that although the XL bully is not yet banned, it is “prone to unpredictability”.
Addressing Smith, he 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.
Judge Aubrey told her: “If not for the courageous intervention of others (the dog) may not have simply left a trail of destruction, it would have been a trail of fatalities. I hope the young boy now continues to make progress in the forthcoming months.”
Smith, who burst into tears when she heard her fate, hugged the dock officer before leaving the courtroom.
‘Danger to our communities’
Following a spate of attacks involving XL bully dogs this month, Rishi Sunak announced a ban of the breed will be brought into law by the end of this year.
Early in September, a 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a dog dangerously out of control after two men and an 11-year-old girl were injured by an XL bully crossbreed which was out of control in Birmingham.
Separately, Ian Price, a 52 year old man from Staffordshire, died in hospital after being attacked by two XL bullies.
On Thursday, the prime minister said XL bully dogs need to be banned because they are a “danger to our communities”.
But Sunak wouldn’t be drawn on whether or not plans to ban the breed could be sufficient to stop additional hurt attributable to the dogs.
Under the ban, house owners may very well be required to neuter their dogs and muzzle them in public, the federal government’s chief vet has urged.
