Just after my recent post about the government declining canine insurance cover, I read about the tragic story of a young girl viciously attacked by a dog; leaving her with horrific and serious injuries…
The dog in question is said to be a family dog, and not of a breed currently illegal in the UK; a French Bullmastiff. According to sources from the Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260070/Girl-2-jaw-ripped-family-dog.html) the animal turned on the young girl and ended up ripping her jaw off, and was subsequently killed by the girl’s father whom saved his daughters life by stabbing the animal with a kitchen knife.
According to reports, the animal suddenly turned on the girl on Monday. It is believed that it may have been more aggressive due to another family dog being in season. CID are currently investigating the incident, and the young girl has been taken to South London Hospital, described as in a “stable condition”. According to an update on the story from the Daily Mail, the young girl named Taylor has had 70 stitches on her facial area and will be undergoing an operation for deep wounds below the eye. Her bone structure is defined as being fine, but the injuries she has sustained are serious in nature.
Also in the further reports, the young girl’s grandmother had reportedly requested the dog to be put down a couple of weeks prior to the incidents following a separate instance of the animal biting the girl’s brother. The girl’s mother has since stated that the animal only started getting aggressive recently, and had been fine as a family pet for a number of years. Following the incident with the girls’ brother, vets had advised her that the breed is not usually aggressive and advised that retraining the dog rather than putting it down is the way forward.
A neighbour who witnessed the incident is alleged to have stated that the father chased the animal down the garden and repeatedly punched and kicked it after it had suddenly turned on the girl prior to killing it with the kitchen knife. The other family dogs are currently being held in police care, and the RSPCA are said to be assisting police with their enquiries.
The incident comes at a time of growing concern over the use of dangerous dogs as status symbols, and even weapons. The report also mentions that just recently a 22 year old male was jailed for at least 24 months after he used his powerfully built pit bull cross breed dog as a weapon to savage a 16 year old youth. This instance of course is in no way related to the main story of this article, as the dog that attacked the young girl has never been seen to be vicious before.
Certainly a horrifying and tragic story. But how does this relate to my previous blog regarding dog insurance? Well, one notable fact aforementioned is that the dog is not classed as an illegal breed, nor is it generally seen as a dangerous or vicious breed. It appears that for circumstances that may be related to another family dog being in season, the animal was subject to a sudden change in behaviour. Can this be foreseen? Well, it’s certainly difficult. And this may just be a case of a tragic accident that no one could have known would happen.
We of course wish the young girl a speedy recovery.
