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A four-year-old boy has shockingly had his head bitten in by an XL Bully dog. . . while the mother “failed to intervene”.
Mum Stacey Smith, 32, avoided jail after a judge claimed the “fault may lie elsewhere”. The boy, who has not named, has been left scarred for life and will now “never have a normal childhood” after sustaining a “brutal” attack by the dog called Nola.
The dog, later killed by police, was staying at the Smith family home for 10 days in August 2022. However, when the young boy opened the front gate of the home to play out in the garden, Nola burst open the front door and “latched its jaws around his head,” Liverpool Crown Court was told this week.
READ MORE: 'Devil dog ripped my one-year-old son's face off – I could see inside his throat'
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Another woman, who is thought to be the boy's birth mother, was walking with him and tried to yank the dog off, while neighbours also tried to help. Meanwhile, Smith was said to have been standing inside the house dressed in a towel while 'panicking'.
The boy was rushed to Aintree University Hospital, before being moved to Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The court was told he had a right temporal depressed fracture along with multiple facial lacerations. He needed a muscle graft to repair the most severe injuries – and all the scarring will be permanent although it should fade over time. He is also continuing to suffer with severe headaches and flashbacks.
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Dog owner who defended XL Bullies 'suffers savage mauling from XL Bully'
The court was shown CCTV footage of the moment the young boy entered through the front gate, as well as photographs of his facial injuries before and after surgery. The boy's parents, who were both in court, left the room while the photos of their son were shown, while Smith sat with her head in her hands. Nola was taken by police and later euthanised.
Smith pleaded guilty to being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury. However, the judge said: “In my judgement, you should never have been in charge of the dog. However, in my judgement, the fault may lie elsewhere.”
She was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and will have to undertake 20 rehabilitation days with 60 hours unpaid work – there was also an undisclosed surcharge fee paid.
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- Family
- XL Bully
- Dog attacks
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