Family of six-month-old girl mauled to death by dog ‘left devastated’

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/05/family-six-month-old-girl-mauled-death-dog-devastated

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The family of a six-month-old girl mauled to death by a dog have been left devastated, police said, as figures obtained by the Guardian showed that more than 1,400 dangerous dogs have been destroyed since 2010 - many as a result of similar violent incidents.

The infant, who has not yet been named, was brutally attacked by a dog at her home in Daventry, Northamptonshire, on Friday night.

Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate her, but she died from her injuries after being taken to Northampton general hospital. A relative believed to be a grandmother, who was looking after the child, also suffered severe bite wounds as she tried to wrestle the animal off.

Northamptonshire police have yet to confirm the breed of the dog, which was destroyed at the scene. Det Sgt Gary Baker said: “This was a deeply distressing and tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family who have been left devastated by the events of last night.

“Incidents such as these are extremely rare in this country, but that will be of little comfort to the relatives of this tragically young victim.”

Police figures obtained by the Guardian revealed that 1,404 dogs have been destroyed since 2010.

The vast majority were put down by police order after attacking people, or because they were a banned breed, often a pit bull terrier. Others were abandoned by their owners.

The figures, disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, do not include large areas such as Merseyside or West Midlands, so the true figure is likely to be much higher.

In Northamptonshire, where the six-month-old was killed on Friday, police are understood to have dealt with 62 instances of attacks involving dogs in the past two years, including one in which a 10-year-old girl lost part of her leg when her Staffordshire bull terrier bit her as she got ready for school in December 2012.

Thirty-eight dogs were destroyed in Northamptonshire between 2012 and April this year, police figures show.

In London, the Metropolitan police oversaw the destruction of 363 dogs between 2012 and April. A further 239 were put down in the Thames Valley area between 2010 and April 2014. In Scotland, figures show that only five dogs have been destroyed with police oversight since 2011.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Conservative MP for Daventry, said the death of the six-month-old girl would reopen the debate about dangerous dogs.

The pit bull terrier is one of four breeds prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, along with the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Braziliero, which were originally bred for their ability to fight.

Chris Over, from Daventry district council, said the death was a “wakeup call” to bring back dog licensing. “This is shocking. This is a terrible situation. The trauma for the family must be awful and our hearts go out to them,” he said.

“It is a wakeup call for people to make certain that when they select a dog it is a breed that has a good reputation and that they are able to control the dog. This tragedy highlights that responsible dog ownership is something we must encourage.”

Dog owners in Britain used to be required to have a licence, but they were widely ignored and eventually abolished in 1987.