Police have said they will not take action after a toddler had her lip almost bitten off by a dog - because the animal was on a lead at the time.
Lily-May Brindley was with her grandmother in a park feeding the ducks when a Jack Russell leapt up and bit her face, leaving her lower lip hanging off.
After being rushed to hospital the 22-month-old underwent an emergency two-hour operation, with surgeons using 20 stitches to sew her lip back together.
Doctors have warned that Lily-May may be scarred for life as a result of the attack.
Her parents, Jack Brindley and Sarah Wainwright, have now revealed their anger that police are refusing to prosecute the owner or confiscate the dog.
The police claim there is not enough evidence to press charges against the owner because the dog was under control and may have bitten Lily-May ‘by accident’.
Officers believe the dog was attempting to snatch the bread Lily-May was carrying rather than deliberately snapping at her face when she was bitten last Thursday.
Mr Brindley, 20, said: ‘I want the dog put down for what it did. My daughter’s lip was hanging off but the police have tried to tell me that because the dog was on a lead it was under control.
‘The fact that it attacked my daughter shows it clearly was not under control at all.’
Ms Wainwright, also 20, said: ‘She is in a lot of pain. I think she will be left with a scar for life.
‘I am scared now that the dog has a taste for human blood, no child is safe,’ she added.
However, the owner of the dog, Reg Cox, 69, blamed the toddler for the incident.
The retired engineer, who was walking his three-year-old rescue dog Pepper in the park at the time of the attack, said: ‘It wasn’t Pepper’s fault, she was defending herself against the child who had bread in her hand.’
A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: ‘We believe the dog was acting on natural instinct and accidentally came into contact with the child’s mouth.’
Credits: Metro.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment