Residents in Belvedere, south east London, where a dog attacked its owner and left her in a critical condition have spoken of their experiences with the ‘lunatic’ pet
Horrified neighbours have described one of the dogs at an address where a woman is fighting for her life after being mauled as a ‘lunatic’.
Residents of The Chestnuts flats in Belvedere, south east London, said they believe the animal involved in the mauling on Monday was a large American ‘XL bully-type’ dog. Locals also shared that the owner, believed to be a mother and grandmother had lived in the flats for around three years before this morning’s attack.
The door of the flat was today seen held slightly ajar by a pink children’s toy while a police officer guarded the door. Residents who knew of the dogs said they would bark loudly at them as they walked past the windows of the ground-floor flat.
George Quinn, a letting agent who has lived in the area since 1995, said: “I know the woman has a couple of dogs. Any time I take out my bins they’re always barking.
“They were always barking in there. They seemed quite aggressive dogs. Every time you walk past they bark – even though they can’t see you – and you hear someone say ‘shut up’ or something. They were quite big dogs… They weren’t little,”
Another man, who gave his name only as John and lives a few floors above Mr Quinn, said one of the woman’s dogs, which was an ‘XL bully type’, was a ‘lunatic’. He sad: “I’ve had rows with her before. One of the dogs was a lunatic. It was an XL Bully type. She’s been here about three years.
One mother living in The Chestnuts added: “The dog barks at the children when they go out and play. The dog would bark and [the woman] would shout to shut him up. Hopefully, she’s okay. It’s a really sad situation.” An elderly woman living in one flat said she had stroked both the victim’s ‘big’ dogs, which she said were rescued, and that they were ‘lovely’ – but could ‘turn’ like any dog.
A man named Wayne, whose partner lives at The Chestnuts, said the larger of the victim’s dogs was a ‘fruitcake’. He added: “The one that bit her was a big breed, but it’s hard to say which. At one time she had three dogs. One was a pocket bully, a sweet little thing. But the big one was just a fruitcake. You can tell with dogs… I wouldn’t trust it. I think they were rescue dogs. They were always barking.”
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Police said earlier on Monday: “Police were called at approximately 08.55am to reports of a woman being attacked by a dog inside an address in Bedwell Road, Belvedere. Officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended the scene – a woman, no further details – was taken to hospital for treatment; she remains there in a critical condition.
“A man also received minor injuries – he was taken to hospital for treatment. The dog received injuries during the attack and Taser was discharged by officers who secured it in a separate room. It has since died. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.”
