Child needed life-saving brain surgery after dog attack as couple jailed

16 November 2023 , 10:57

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The dog that attacked the child had recently given birth (Image: (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))

A former couple have been jailed after their dog attacked a toddler, causing her to need emergency brain surgery.

The child was "mauled" by a German Shepherd that had recently given birth, leading to multiple skull fractures and bleeding on the brain. The man and woman, who cannot be named for the child's protection, were sentenced at Bradford Crown Court.

The judge highlighted that a family key worker had previously warned the mum about the potential dangers of leaving the dogs alone with children. Despite this, the court heard that the mum left the toddler unattended downstairs while she was upstairs. After the attack, there was an eight-minute delay before the mum called 999, telling the operator that her daughter had been "mauled" by the dog and was drifting in and out of consciousness.

The prosecutor, John Hobley, said that the girl was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary and then transferred to a hospital in Leeds for significant brain surgery. The police officers who attended the house found it unclean and messy with a strong smell of urine. When the couple were drug tested, they were found to have taken cocaine and amphetamine.

The mum pleaded guilty to two child cruelty charges relating to her general neglect and the delay in calling the ambulance. Her former partner admitted being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and her ex-partner was given a 12-month sentence. The court heard that the female dog had subsequently been put down.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Lydia Pearce, the barrister for the mum, said her client was in a blind panic when she made the 999 call and had been trying to re-home the dogs after being warned about them. She added that her client had significantly changed her life since the incident.

Harry Crowson, the barrister for the male defendant, admitted his client had made a "massive oversight" by leaving the child alone with the dog. He accepted it was a "very serious lapse of judgement".

Recorder Palmer noted that a paediatrician had concluded that the young girl had suffered "severe neglect" before the dog attack. He told the male defendant: "You failed to stay with (the child) when there were those dogs in the house and you failed to protect her from them."

The judge said he had been asked to pass suspended sentences, but he had to consider that the child needed "life-saving emergency brain surgery". He added: "She could have died had she not received prompt medical attention. Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate imprisonment."

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Gregory Ford