Savaged girl (8) needed 60 stitches
AN eight-year-old girl needed over 60 stitches to repair appalling injuries to her face and head when she was mauled by a dog after its owners told her she could stroke it.
Sky Barker was playing near her mother's house on the Field Lane estate, Rastrick, last Thursday evening when she asked the owner of a Japanese Akita if she could stroke the animal.
As she approached the dog, which was tied to a wall, it leapt forward and grabbed her head in its mouth.
As it sunk its teeth into her face, Sky was able to roll beyond the reach of the tethered animal and the emergency services were called. She was rushed to hospital and received stitches to her face and scalp.
Sky's father, Brian Hackett was on his way home from work when he received a call to tell him that Sky was in hospital. He said his daughter, who attends Field Lane School, was lucky to be alive.
"If she'd been any younger she wouldn't have been able to get away from the dog, she wouldn't have had a chance. I went straight to the hospital and I was shocked to see her in that state," he said.
Sky has been left with severe injuries to her face and the back of her head which her father hopes will one day fully heal.
"There's obviously been quite a bit of damage," he said. "Hopefully she'll get better and make a good recovery but it's too early to tell. She has needed a lot of stitches."
Now Mr Hackett is demanding that the dog is put down before anyone else gets seriously hurt.
"Sky is going to have to go through a lot of pain in the future because of this attack, and I just don't want something like this to happen to someone else. Since the attack I have seen the dog out on a lead with the owners and I want to make people aware that it is still in the area," he said.
The Japanese Akita is considered to be one of the most dangerous dogs in Britain, with numerous reported attacks which have resulted in the victim needing stitches and surgery.
Akitas are not listed as dangerous dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act but they are classed as a fighting breed.
Because the dog is not listed under the Act, the police say that they cannot force its owners to have it destroyed.
A spokesman said: "Because of the classification of this particular type of dog, we cannot seize the animal and have it put down. Instead, all we we can do is strongly encourage to the owners that the dog is put down."
The spokesman said that although there was nothing they could do, the owners have told police that they plan to have the dog destroyed in the coming days.
In 2007 a Bradford man needed 87 stitches and two operations on his arm after his neighbours Akita attacked him.
In 2010, a 9-year-old boy needed five hours of plastic surgery after being attacked by an Akita after he tried to feed it a piece of cake.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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