Mum's terror as she's bitten by 'out of control' dog and owner flees scene

29 December 2023 , 12:36

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The stitched cut after the woman was bitten by the dog

A mum has told of "screaming" in terror and was left heavily bleeding after being bitten by an "out of control dog".

The woman, who did not want to be named, was on a Birmingham street after leaving her house when she said a German shepherd attacked her. First she claimed her husband shouted: "Run, there's a dog coming."

And then despite being on a lead, the dog jumped up to bite her arm, leaving her bleeding and screaming in Maxwell Avenue, Handsworth, she claimed. Although she says the dog owner pulled the pet back straight away, he reportedly then fled the scene when they said they would call the police.

Her clothes were "wet with blood" and she was left needing stitches along with an injection following the alleged attack. Police have urged anyone in the area between 9 and 10pm on December 6 to get in touch as they continue to investigate the "out of control dog incident."

The victim said: "I was walking out of the house, my husband was in front of me and I was walking behind him, and then my husband shouts at me and goes 'run, there's a dog coming'. The next second I see the dog's on my arm. I saw the dog run towards me and jump on my arm, the person who was holding him couldn't control him; you could see him from afar, he was being dragged after the dog.

Girl, 4, mauled to death in dog attack pictured as neighbours hear mum's screams

The woman was bitten in the street in Birmingham

The police are appealing to the public for information

"It happened so quick, I didn't know what I was feeling. I was screaming, I didn't know what to do. He [the man with the dog] pulled him back and started walking away, my husband says: 'What you doing, he bit my wife's arm? I said 'where you going, your dog just bit my arm' and he says: 'Sorry, sorry, we'll do something about it'."

But when the couple announced they would be calling the police, he then pleaded "don't call the police on me and did a runner from there", she told BirminghamLive. She added: "I was bleeding loads. My arm went really heavy, I thought I'd got away with it because I had about three, four layers on, including a coat. My hands were all wet with blood on them."

Going inside the family home, relatives helped take her coat and hijab off. She called an ambulance, but was told it would take several hours to arrive, so instead she was driven to hospital - where she waited until 4am to be seen. The woman was given stitches, an injection and a week-long course of antibiotics for the injury, but the mental impact continues. "It's given me nightmares," she explained.

"My niece left the house about 20 minutes before I did, and if her kids went into the road (they're only about five- to six-years-old) the dog would've done more damage to them than he did to me. I wasn't scared of dogs before, I used to see them on the leash and think 'the owner's holding them so it's not going to do any damage', but since this has happened, I can't take it out my head. It's very scary. Whenever I'm sitting alone now, that's all I think about."

West Midlands Police appealed for anyone with information to get in touch. A spokesman for the force said: "We are investigating an out of control dog incident in Maxwell Avenue, Birmingham on 6 December in which a woman was bitten by a dog. Anyone who was in the area between 9 and 10pm can contact us via Live Chat or 101 quoting crime number 20/1063544/23."

Stephanie Balloo