The XL bullies attacked a mum-of-three after bolting from a garden and went on to leave her with serious injuries that needed multiple skin graft operations to treat
A pair of XL bullies tore chunks out of a mum’s arm after escaping a garden and leaving her with “degloving” injuries.
The two dogs bolted from an unsecure home in St Helens, Merseyside, at about 11pm on Monday, May 15, before running out into the street an attacking victim Katie Elliot, 22. Neighbours heard the woman’s screams and rushed to her aid before alerting emergency services.
Merseyside Police said the attack lasted about seven minutes and left Elliot suffering life-changing injuries to her arms and hands. Mirror affiliate the Liverpool Echo reported the mum-of-three was dragged to the ground where she was shaken, dragged and bitten several times.
Prosecutor Cecilia Pritchard at Liverpool Crown Court today said: “Local residents had been alerted to the incident because they could hear her screaming for help, and a number of them came out. Despite numerous attempts to get the dogs off, it was not having any real effect.
“What some people said… is that they had tried to hit the dogs repeatedly with sticks – some of them had broken. This obviously didn’t cause the dogs – particularly the larger dog, Kodak – to desist, and that dog was still trying to drag the victim along the ground even after the intervention of these people.
“One of the males said when he was trying to intervene, the dog was also trying to bite him. Another said that despite hitting Kodak as hard as he could with the stick, this had very little effect and the dog continued to shake and drag the victim.”
Elliot reportedly suffered a “massive degloving injury” that left her needing multiple skin graft operations. The court heard the victim continues to feel pain and have mobility problems following the attack. Kelis Smith, of Brook Hall Close, was charged following the incident. She pleaded guilty to two counts of being the owner or person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury.
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison today at the court. As well as a prison sentence, Smith was banned from owning dogs for two years and was issued a destruction order for the two dogs which have been kept in a secure police kennels following the attack. Detective Sergeant Ian Harrison said: “Smith failed in her responsibility to keep these dogs in a secure premises, which led to them running out onto the street and attacking a young woman.
“Smith’s recklessness resulted in this horrific incident, which lasted around seven minutes and left the victim with life changing injuries to her arms and hands. It was only thanks to the brave actions of neighbours that it wasn’t worse. We can only hope that this case gives a stark warning to dog owners about keeping animals under control. We will act on all information provided on suspected irresponsible dog ownership. Failing to keep your dog under control can lead to the worst outcome imaginable.”
Call 999 if a dog is posing an immediate threat to the safety of the public, or pass other information via @Merpol CC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. You can also report other concerns about dogs via your local authority.
