Bristol schoolgirl, 6, could be scarred for life after dog attack
A six-year-old girl may be scarred for life after she was bitten in the chest by a Staffordshire bull terrier.
Bristol magistrates heard the girl was walking with her mum, having been picked up from Easton Primary School, when the dog escaped from a garden on Clifton Place and attacked her.
The dog's owner Joy Burrell, 42, yesterday admitted failing to control a dangerous animal.
In a witness statement read out in court, the victim's mother said she feared her daughter would be scarred for life.
Prosecuting, Andrea Edwards described what happened at around 3.30pm on May 11.
She said the brown bull terrier ran out of the garden, bit the six-year-old on the right side of her chest – drawing blood – before running back into the garden.
Burrell had been out at the time and when she heard what happened she caught up with the girl's mother to find out if she was hurt and apologised.
When she was later questioned by police she admitted the dog was hers and she said it had escaped through a hole in her back garden fence, which she had tried to repair and had asked the council to fix.
In a statement, the mother of the girl, neither of whom can be identified for legal reasons, said: "Since the dog bit my daughter I've become more scared of bigger dogs, as has my daughter."
She said the girl now has two scars on her chest – one an inch long and one "like a pimple" – which will stay with her for life.
Guy Percival, mitigating, said Burrell "was not an irresponsible person" and had owned the six-year-old dog since it was a puppy.
It had previously caused no problems at all and had been well-behaved around children.
Since the attack, Burrell has made sure the bull terrier has worn a muzzle in public.
Magistrates felt they could not sentence Burrell without more medical information about the extent of the injuries and whether the girl would, indeed, be scarred for life.
Mr Percival added: "It's not a savage attack, it's very fleeting. Either he bit or scratched her with his claws."
The case was adjourned for sentence on September 24.
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by Julraj, Clifton, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 10:50PM
“Bemused...assuming you've actually READ the story, nevermind a majority of the comments here you're unbelievably naive.
The kid's forgotten it already, at least I hope so or she'll be one of those pathetic kids that's terrified of dogs. Your last assumption is even more ridiculous - kids in Easton don't bother going to school.
I think you need to wake up, smell the coffee and realise that some parents are crap and out to grab as much compo cash as possible.”
by Bemused, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 8:05PM
“Julraj, what a pathetic "observation" to make;
"I've given myself an accidental permanent scar by simply fumbling with scissors so these injuries must be trivial at best."
This has NOTHING to do with the trauma a small 6 year old child felt when attacked by a (large in comparison to the young child's small stature) dog and bitten on the torso at 3.30 in the afternoon when (presumably) walking home from school!
Silly silly comment......you foolish person!
A speedy recovery and hopefully no nightmares for this poor child.”
by Rodge the Dodge, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 3:17PM
“Each to their own i suppose JG. this sort of thing wasnt just done 200 yrs ago, its still done today. i have a lush dog, never would get rid of him... as i said though, each to their own...”
by JG, Bristle
Friday, August 28 2009, 2:36PM
“Sharing my home with another species is not for me, this was done 200 years ago, but some of us have progressed. Others have their own ideas.”
by Staffy Lover, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 1:07PM
“This sounds extremely exaggerated to me! It makes me wonder whether this story would have even made it into the courts/papers if it had been a collie, or a golden retriever?
Tom, with regards to your comments, Staffies are great pets and very loving dogs. Yes they are the chav's dog of choice - but is that their fault?! The Victorians used to refer to them as 'Nanny dogs' as they were so well known for their good temperment and love of children.
Even recently, Bath Dogs home has an open day to help promote the Staffy and get rid of some of the myths surrounding this breed. I hardly think the RSPCA would endorse homing these dogs with families if they considered them 'dangerous'.
All dogs are capable of biting!”
by Martin, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 1:06PM
“Definately a case for Ambulance ChasersR'Us or RGB Bloomer or Injury Layers For You. Must be a cool half a million up for grabs here or so her mother hopes”
by Rodge the Dodge, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 1:06PM
“No, Ian, Tom is just a donut who needs to think before he comments.”
by Ian J, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 1:03PM
“Sounds to me like a bit of a compensation stunt to me. No dangerious dogs act mentioned and finally, no medical information about the injuries!
That for me is the clincher! Surely if your kid was bitten badly, you would go to hospital, and produce the medical report to help your case??
Sounds to me just a scratch from a claw...or a minor bite.
The fact that its a staffie has nothing to do with it! I got bitten by a Springer Spaniel and a Bassett Hound quite recently...should these breeds be banned as well?”
by ben, bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 12:06PM
“tom local you are obviously a canine expert who knows all about staffies,so can i ask you was this a full staff,staff cross,pitbull,pit staff cross.?the reason i ask is as iam sure you know staffs are favoured for their temperment ,how ever when bring another breed in to the mix you alter the genetics and temperment,as for pitbulls and pitbull/staffie cross these are still bred in the bristol area and change hands through both free ads papers and the internet.i think that you may well find the western staffordshire bullterrier web site usefull or even phoning their help line ,so that you will have a valid point next time.if this dog had attacked this child iam sure there would not be any doubts as to wether she was bitten or scratched.”
by Rodge the Dodge, Bristol
Friday, August 28 2009, 11:17AM
“Tom, Local very amusing comments there.
i believe that NO dog, no matter what type, should be aloud near children end of! the reason for this, is that children sometimes do things that (even though they dont realise) is threatening towards dogs. Staffies are not chav dogs that is ridiculous, chavs may have them for fighting, but, staffies are very good worker dogs. Any type of dog brought up in a good environment can be the nicest dog on the planet, this all changes around children. i wish people could understand that 9/10 dogs just find children threatening because of how the way children sometimes act.”