Woman 'felt she was going to die' as escaped American Bully savaged her in home
A woman "felt she was going to die" when she was seriously savaged by an American Bully that was being looked after by a flatmate.
The American Bully, Tyson, escaped from a room where the woman's best friend, Ellie Ireland, had been keeping it in their shared house, Hull Crown Court heard. Ireland was looking after Tyson as a favour for her boyfriend, who was out watching football at a pub.
The court was told that the victim had gone to ask Ireland if she wanted a lift to the pub when the dog ran out from an opened door. Ireland, 26, from Hull, admitted being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control and injured the victim in the house in Park Grove, Hull, on December 10 last year.
The dog's owner Joe Karlson-Bond, 28, denied being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control and, after a trial was set, no evidence was offered against him, although he remained an interested party involved in the case and he was in the public gallery.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, prosecuting, said that Ireland was in a relationship with Mr Karlson-Bond and, on the day of the incident, he took his two-year-old American Bully dog, Tyson, to her home. The 26-year-old woman, who was attacked by the dog, had been Ireland's best friend since 2009 and they live in the shared accommodation together.
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Mr Karlson-Bond decided during the evening to watch football at a local pub, and it was agreed that he would leave Tyson with Ireland. "This was not the first time that she had looked after Tyson, although she had only cared for him for short periods of time," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. "There had never been any issues while she had Tyson in her care."
Ireland had considered going to the pub herself later to meet Mr Karlson-Bond and she had asked her friend if she would give her a lift. The victim called up to Ireland at about 6.30pm to ask her if she still wanted a lift to the pub and when Ireland opened her room door to answer Tyson was able to escape.
The dog jumped up at her and immediately bit her on her right leg and knee. Tyson continued to jump up at her and bit her on her right arm before clamping onto it. The woman was in shock and panic and tried to break free from the dog's grip. "She felt as though she was going to die," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
The incident lasted for about 10 minutes. Ireland frantically tried to free her friend from the grip of the dog and Tyson was eventually released from her. The woman was taken by Ireland and Mr Karlson-Bond to Hull Royal Infirmary and went to a plastic surgery clinic. She had multiple wounds to her right forearm and she was in severe pain. She had surgery and some dead and damaged tissue was removed.
There was significant damage and muscle loss in the muscles of the tendons responsible for the bending of her fingers and she had suffered some skin loss. The woman later needed a skin graft to reconstruct the wound on her arm. Skin was taken from her thigh and she had been left with a scar. She had been referred for hand therapy.
She later recovered well and had a good range of movement in her fingers but she had reduced strength due to muscle loss. She was still suffering nightmares and, although her range of movement had improved, she still had pain in her fingers, particularly when playing sport, and she had to pull out of a boxing match for charity.
The police later found that the dog's behaviour was still aggressive after being taken to kennels, he was still a risk to other people, had to be handled using a pole and destroyed drinking bowls in the kennels. Marc Luxford, mitigating, said that the level of injury caused to the woman was of "grave concern" because of the psychological harm caused and it was fortunate that the woman had recovered from the injury.
"It was a terrible attack," said Mr Luxford. "It caused serious psychological problems." Ireland had also suffered anxiety and nightmares. "She is incredibly sorry that this happened," continued Mr Luxford. "She has been full and frank in her admissions throughout. She has been very concerned at the level of injury and the effect. It's not an incident that she will forget quickly. Tyson has never done anything like this before."
Ireland worked at a vets and there were references for her. She had no previous convictions and had initially been treated in the case as a witness, not a defendant. She had tried to remove the dog from the woman and had done everything that she could before and after the incident when Tyson ran out of the bedroom.
Mr Karlson-Bond told the court: "I have had Tyson since he was young. Tyson, when he is with people he knows and loves, is the most loving and caring dog that you could have. It was terrible what he did to her and I am sorry it happened, I really am. I get that what happened was bad. I will never deny that it was bad."
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He wanted Tyson not to be destroyed and said of the dog: "He has been stuck in kennels. He has had no human interaction. He is not treated like a dog. I don't know what he is treated like. He is dragged around with a pole. Dogs get treated like c*** in the kennels. You can't talk to anyone there. You can't find out anything."
Judge Tahir Khan KC told Ireland: "You have had to come to terms with the fact that Tyson caused serious injuries to your friend. I have heard that the injuries were serious and she had to have surgery. Not only were there physical injuries but there were also psychological injuries in the form of trauma as a result of the attack by Tyson on her. It's to your credit that you attempted to free her.
"You tried to stop the attack and I give you credit for your efforts. To some extent, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ireland was given 100 hours' unpaid work, 10 days' rehabilitation and was ordered to pay £500 compensation at the rate of £50 a month. The victim, who was in the public gallery, immediately said of the compensation: "I don't want it."
Judge Khan ordered that Tyson should be destroyed. "My job as the judge is to protect the public and I am satisfied that Tyson is a danger to the public if he is let loose," said Judge Khan. "I don't like to make this order but, as my duty is to protect the public, I do make a destruction order."
Outside the courtroom door, Ireland and Mr Karlson-Bond hugged each other after they left court. The victim told Hull Live: "Community service and £500 compensation is nothing to pay for what happened. If this dog had attacked my neck and not my arm, I would not be here to tell the same story. That's the sad truth."
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