Woman, 68, suffers potentially life-changing injuries in dog attack in Worcester

[DuckIings]

"A 68-year-old woman has suffered potentially life-changing injuries in a dog attack in Worcester this morning.

Three people were injured after the incident at a house on Boughton Avenue.

The 68-year-old woman was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, while a 38-year-old man was taken to Worcester Royal Hospital, with injuries which are not life-threatening."

Two men were injured, one elderly woman was in critical condition upon entry to hospital (now stable).

Glad it was the owners, not innocent people.

Surely the government needs to step in and completely ban dogs capable of doing such damage? I feel I can't let my children walk around outside by themselves, in case one of these bloodsport breeds is out. No leash will hold them. I know I couldn't fight one off either, but at least if I was around my children and there was only one dog, they'd have a chance to escape.

They haven't released the breed, but I think we all know what type of dog it will be.

There's a second attack by dog of a nine year old boy, same day, also Worcester. Leg injuries described as serious. Poor child.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66188011?fbclid=IwAR0u7h0Je6qxVUQGr0p_sTPv08YVSRkTKqQEz25d7mfTVlEwYgwJ7RE4Uo0_aem_Ab5Y2WpBWtORYzfubSlMhQesNn9-IiFq1AhkqcWlV-_xbEEpHe8IGKZJktjoqhibZMA

We are beyond help as a species when we allow this to happen to us.

First link dropped out of my post:

https://www.itv.com/news/central/2023-07-12/three-people-injured-after-dog-attack

It's in their home so if they're stupid enough to own these breeds or let them into their homes from family members then it's on them

Usually. But they do still maul strangers. And kids certainly don't deserve to be victims.

I saw an article earlier in the Daily Mail about a guy punching a dog. It was a 12 week old XL Bully. No wonder those dogs have issues when they’re owned by total scumbags who abuse them.

She's not the first person to be injured in Worcestershire this week. I'll try and find a link.

Completely agree with this. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66177057

That's not the main reason those breeds ha e issues. They are bloodsport dogs. That why mauly behaviour is common with them.

Not fair on the neighbours though, or the kids in the home.

You don't know what kind of a dog is going to bite, ultimately. A little dog can do a huge amount of damage to a young child.

I do not disagree that there is an issue with dumb idiots (predominantly men) who own these types of ‘tough guy’ breeds and either actively abuse them or just neglect them/treat them poorly/do not understand dog behaviour, leading to tragic outcomes.

But if it makes you anxious to the point of distress and not wanting to let your children experience the world, then you need to think that your risk-assessment has gone a bit off-kilter and seek to address your anxiety.

I see the dog was dead by the time the emergency services arrived.

Some types of dogs in the hands of people who don't socialise them, treat them nice and with appropriate training can turn into vicious animals and shouldn't be pets.

Are you not paying attention to the number of dog attacks recently?
I'm being vigilant. I don't have undue anxiety. We should be anxious about the rise in bully -type dogs, and irresponsible owners.

Yes but i feel confident that I could get most small dogs off a child even if I sustained injuries in the process. The bigger dogs with the v powerful jaws, there's no way I could prise them off.

Completely agree OP.

You might be interested in this article: https://www.lawrencenewport.co.uk/p/why-are-so-many-children-dying-to

I absolutely agree and I identify with your anxiety. I have a tiny Jack Russell I will no longer walk her outside of my home without my husband . These breeds are everywhere. It scares the shit out of me . The amount of pet dogs that have been attacked and killed by XL Bullies in our area is really upsetting it's only a matter of time that it's a child .

It’s so stupid when people say things like this. Yes, any dog can bite. Yes on very rare occasion small dogs have killed babies before. No dog, especially a terrier breed, should ever be in reach of a baby.

But have you seen the size of this recent flux of bullies to the UK? These aren’t happy little Staffies, nowhere near. They are American pit bulls cross bred to get around the banned dogs breed list, bred to be bigger and meaner.

I wanted a small dog breed when we were deciding on a family dog. I got lots of stupid comments re: ‘oh not the small ones they are evil bites shits!’.

Ours is lovely, not a snappy bone in her body and has her good citizen awards. That is besides the point though, should she decide to turn Cujo on us then she could easily be stopped by an adult.

Those XL bullies can tear an adult man to pieces without breaking a sweat. They don’t ‘bite’, they maul to the death.

And you can bet the type of idiot to buy them off gumtree isn’t the type who is doing anywhere near the appropriate amount of training/working these incredibly large, intelligent dogs.

Which would you rather have deciding they want to have a bite of you?

I understand, we won’t walk ours anywhere but the woods now ( it’s too far out of town for the feckless to bother going to regularly).

A woman walking one of these dogs often walks past the school at the end of our road in the morning. She can nearly hold the dog and it is still a puppy! It is very aggressive to other dogs. It’s only a matter of time before it gets away from her.

They are bloody horrible looking .bought for intimidation / as a weapon or fighting .

I take my riding crop with me . But try not to go where you see these dogs and we stay away from local parks If I thought I could get away with it I would carry a Taser.

The gumtree ads for these dogs are something to behold - they are status symbols bred for size and aggression. I can’t for the life of me understand why the government won’t ban them. Reading interviews with poor Jack Lis’ mum is simply heartbreaking.

Yes I've seen them you can see the type of people they are.

That poor mum , and what that poor boy went through . It has to stop . A petition to parliament ? Is there one already ?

From what I can see, several have been recently submitted but rejected due to similarities to another open petition (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631449) - unfortunately this one has gained little traction, presumably because it extends to several other breeds including popular staffies rather than focusing solely on XL bullies…

Totally agree op it's out of control and needs urgent action now.

I read this when it came out, thank you for posting it here though.

I wish Mumsnet would take this on as a campaign.