Vicious Staffordshire bull terrier pinned five-year-old girl down and mauled her face
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Cruel dog bites off little girl’s cheek: 5-year-old left with life-changing horror injuries after neighbor’s Staffordshire Bull Terrier grabbed her and shredded her face
- ***GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING***
- Five-year-old Elsie brutally attacked by her neighbor’s dog in South London
- Little Croydon girl has life-changing horror injuries from assault
- The Staffordshire Bull Terrier held her and bit off her cheek
- Mom Kirsty revealed her daughter was traumatized by the attack
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A five-year-old has suffered life-changing injuries after her neighbor’s dog grabbed her and bit her cheek in a vicious attack.
Elsie, from Croydon, South London, was playing with her friends outside her home when the Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked her, leaving her wounds that required three surgeries.
The horror attack happened around 5pm on September 25 when Elsie and her sister Amelia (9) were playing with friends in a secure area in front of their block.
Elsie’s mother, Kirsty, 29, said the seizure lasted only minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. “I remember the feeling of panic when I saw the dog on her face. I can’t get that image out of my head,” she said.
The mother rushed to her daughter and placed her on her shoulder so that the dog could not reach her.
But the dog kept jumping at Elsie until they reached the safety of another neighbor’s house.
“There was blood everywhere and part of her face was wide open. Part of her cheek was hanging off and you could see through the bridge of her nose into her nose,’ Kirsty said.
Elsie (pictured), from Croydon, south London, was playing with her friends outside her home when the Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked her, leaving wounds that required three surgeries
“In the ambulance she tried to fall asleep, but the paramedics talked to her to try to keep her conscious. At one point she turned to me and said, “Mommy, it’s okay, but I have to go, I have to close my eyes now.”
The girl’s mother has revealed that her daughter is traumatized in addition to her physical injuries.
“She doesn’t want to go out, especially on public transport because she doesn’t want people staring at her,” she said.
“She hasn’t been to school since then because she doesn’t want her friends to see her like this.”
The mother had been watching from the inside when her neighbor’s dog was let loose in the area without a leash or muzzle and charged straight at Elsie.
The kids ran to a wall and climbed to safety, but Elsie fell over as they ran, allowing the dog to grab her by the face.
The little girl had part of her cheek bitten off my neighbor’s Staffordshire bull terrier
The five-year-old was rushed to St. George’s Hospital, where she underwent four hours of surgery.
She has since been under the knife again and her parents have been told that she will be seeing a surgeon for the rest of her life.
Police have seized the dog and another belonging to the same owner. They stay in police stations.
A 56-year-old woman was subject to conditional questioning on October 18, but no arrests have been made so far.
A police spokesman said the investigation is still ongoing.
Elsie’s (right) mother Kirsty (left) said the seizure lasted only minutes, but it felt like a lifetime
Croydon Council takes action to move Elsie and her family to another house, but for now they are confronted daily by the horrors that have taken place.
Kirsty added: “It’s very hard to get in and out of our house, to see where they used to play. Every time I open the door, it’s there. I can’t look at the place where it happened, I can’t take out the bins.
“The kids find it hard to get in and out, I have to carry Elsie and her older sister in every time.
“It has been disastrous for our entire family. My partner, my children, everyone is in counseling. We’re all just traumatized.’