Shocking moment mother injured in dog attack as she desperately tries to protect toddler
27 September 2023, 17:39
Footage released as the plea for owners to control their dogs continues
This is the horrific moment a mother is forced to protect her toddler and pet from a dangerous dog.
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The woman is seen pushing a pram along a residential road in Sheffield when a Staffordshire bull terrier escapes its owner and goes for her pet.
She drags her dog away by its leash as the owner of the terrier tries to restrain his animal.
"Get off it!" she shrieks in the footage while her one-year-old daughter, sitting in her pram, cries.
Eventually, the terrier owner manages to haul his dog off and he falls to the ground, desperately holding on to its collar.
The mother furiously yells at the terrier owner as he tries to get up.
South Yorkshire Police said she and her daughter suffered superficial injuries, but warned the attack showed how loose dogs can quickly cause a dangerous situation.
The dog was seized by officers but returned to the owner with conditions. He is set to undergo "restorative justice" for the harm caused.
PC Paul Jameson said: "Your dog is your responsibility. If it attacks someone or causes fear in our communities, you are the one held responsible, you are the one facing prosecution, but your dog could also face being euthanised.
"If you know your dog can escape your garden, fix it. Build higher fences, put a lock on the gate, put up signage for people to be aware, and not enter.
Read more: Police hunt grey XL Bully and owner after man mauled by dog in south London
"Keep your dog on a lead, and if you know your dog doesn't like other dogs, walk it in quieter areas and not during busy times.
"Don’t be complacent, don't think it won't happen, don't think you know your dog best. They're animals – even the most relaxed animals in certain situations can be subjected to stress, which may cause a response born from fear.
"It's an animal's instinct and it's our role to understand those situations, spot the signs your dog is giving you and remove them, or the stressor."
The attack on September 2 comes amid the incoming ban on XL Bully dogs after a spate of attacks.
South Yorkshire Police said in July that dangerous dog incidents have increased by more than 50% in the last five years and in January last year XL bullies accounted for 25% of the dogs they seized.
The footage of this incident, which was released on Wednesday, comes just a week after the same force released footage showing a dog "dangerously out of control" leaping a fence to launch an attack.
A man who was walking his own dog at the time suffered injuries.
PC Jameson added: "Dogs think like dogs and it's dangerous to apply human thinking to a dog's behaviour.
"The same goes within your own home; teach your children from a young age to respect dogs, don't let them climb or jump on them, ensure your dog has somewhere quiet to go that is their space, away from family life.
"Sometimes simple common-sense, low-cost changes can make the difference."
