Dog tears toddler's lip off in horror unprovoked attack as she and mum left shop
A mother has been left distraught after her toddler's lip was partially bitten off by a dog in an unprovoked attack.
Summer Morgan, 25, and her young daughter Skylar were exiting a shop when the dog, thought to have been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, pounced on the afternoon of Saturday August 26.
Skylar suffered severe facial injuries, which required emergency surgery at Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham. Summer is now urging people to exercise caution around dogs, particularly those with young children.
Nottinghamshire Police have been alerted about the incident and have confirmed that a voluntary control order has been issued to the dog's owner. This mandates that the dog must be muzzled in public from now on.
Despite the traumatic ordeal, Skylar is reportedly "doing really well" post-surgery, which was necessary to reconstruct part of her mouth following the loss of a piece of her lip to the dog bite.
Girl, 4, mauled to death in dog attack pictured as neighbours hear mum's screams
The canine bit off part of her toddler's lip in the unprovoked attack (Nottingham Post / BPM Media)
Skylar was taken to Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, so she could have surgery (Nottingham Post / BPM Media)Summer told Nottinghamshire Live: "Skylar was so happy when we went to the shop as she had just dressed herself and was wearing a sun dress, a sun hat and wellies. I usually park outside the shop but I parked outside the post office as I needed to go there as well. As we walked out of the shop the dog was with one of its owners and just went for her.
"Skylar had acknowledged that there was a dog because she saw it, but she didn't try and stroke it or anything. I don't really remember a lot as I just tried to grab her, but I remember the man pulling the dog back and then I just picked her up and held her like a baby as I didn't know the extent of what happened, there was blood everywhere."
In the chaos, Summer dropped her shopping bag, keys, and phone to rescue Skylar. A Good Samaritan, who witnessed the incident in Edwalton, Nottinghamshire, rushed over to assist. He helped Summer call an ambulance, and when they were informed it would take 40 minutes, he helped the distraught mother contact her sister for a ride to the hospital.
The aunt, who requested anonymity, shared her distress upon receiving the call: "When you get a call like that, you never know how bad it is, and you think the worst. I was feeling all the emotions - panic, angry, and protective I just needed to get to my sister and niece."
Upon arriving at the scene, she found her sister cradling her injured niece, surrounded by a few people who had stayed to ensure they could get to the hospital. Skylar's aunt said: "In my opinion, the dog should be put down, I do understand that may not be nice for the owners but clearly this dog is a danger to the community." She firmly believes the owners "need to be held accountable".
"The dog actually managed to take some tissue from her lip. We had to stay in hospital overnight and she was on antibiotics, then the next morning they put her to sleep and did the surgery," Summer added.
Summer gave the doctors carte blanche to do whatever necessary to restore Skylar's appearance, as part of her lip was missing. She said: "I told them to do whatever to her if it helps to make it look as normal as possible as there is a part missing. They have rebuilt the bottom line of her lip." She further explained that future procedures could help rebuild the volume of Skylar's lip. The mother-daughter duo, regulars at the local shop, are still reeling from the shock of the incident.
Summer said: "I can't believe it has happened. It happened to Skylar and I can't change that so now it's about making sure other people are not put in the same situation."
Inspector Tim Cuthbert, neighbourhood policing inspector for Rushcliffe, confirmed that officers have reviewed CCTV footage and conducted further inquiries. He stated, "Officers have studied CCTV footage and carried out further inquiries. We have issued the owner of the dog with a voluntary control order and the owner has agreed it will wear a muzzle in public in the future."
He also mentioned that officers have been in regular contact with Summer to update her on their actions and check on Skylar's condition. He added, "This would have been a distressing incident for the child involved and we are pleased to hear she has recovered well." However Summer "would have preferred to have the dog taken away from the community whilst the investigation is ongoing so it doesn't happen to anyone else".
Dog shot dead by police after mauling girl, 4, to death in horror attack
Matthew Clewley, who witnessed the horrifying dog attack, said: "I was just walking by the shop and I saw the dog jump up at the little girl's face and then the girl was screaming and there was blood everywhere. Supposedly there's been more than a few occasions where this dog has attacked a puppy or another kid but the police are saying that's not enough to do anything with it."
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up The Mirror's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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