Dog attack: Girl, 4, still has nightmares

Luna-Ann was bitten in the face by an American bulldog

A mother has described a dog attack on her daughter as the "worst moment of her life".

Four-year-old Luna-Ann, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was bitten in the face by an American bulldog at a neighbour's house on 6 April.

She spoke out after an 11-year-old girl was attacked by an American bully XL dog in Birmingham on Saturday.

Luna-Ann needed 40 stitches and plastic surgery and has frequent nightmares about the attack.

Her mother Amy, 32, said she was concerned about the rise in popularity of the big bull breeds and echoed calls for the American Bully XL to be banned.

Warning: this story contains images that some people may find distressing.

She said at the very least she would like to see licensing put in place so "if you don't have a licence, you can't own this type of dog".

The attack on Luna-Ann took place as she and her mother popped into their neighbour's house after a shopping trip.

Luna-Ann needed 40 stitches in hospital and plastic surgery

Amy said her daughter "put her arm out to say hello" to the dog and was "pushed to the floor".

The 32-year-old had to wrestle it off her.

She said: "He'd literally got hold of the right side of her cheek and it looked like he'd tried to take it off."

Amy rushed Luna-Ann to hospital, where she was told she would need surgery.

She was operated on for more than two hours and doctors said she would be left with permanent scars.

"It's the constant reminder on her face for the rest of her life now that she got attacked by a dog," she said.

Amy said her daughter was a good sleeper before the attack

The mental scars are also not going away.

The four-year-old said she got got "scared in the night" because she was worried the dog would "cut her again".

The little girl, who before the attack used to sleep through the night, now wakes up and wants to sleep with her parents or sister.

It has had a massive impact on her, her mother said.

Warwickshire Police continues to investigate the attack on Luna-Ann.

In a statement the force said: "The dog has been seized pending the outcome of the investigation. Inquiries are ongoing."

BAPRAS president Ruth Waters said a growing number of dog bite victims needed plastic surgery

The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) has carried out its own study.

It reviewed animal bite attendances at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and found plastic surgery referrals increased by 180% during April - August 2021, compared with the same period in 2019.

BAPRAS president Ruth Waters said due to the nature of the injuries it could take years of treatment.

"The long-term consequences of these injuries can be quite devastating, particularly with facial injuries," she said.

"And we have to be mindful we'll probably be seeing those patients for many years."

The consultant plastic surgeon, who is based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said it put a huge burden on the NHS.

"Plastic surgery is always very busy with trauma and we're also trying to deal with a big backlog of work so we are very keen that we get on top of this."

Hannah Molloy, an experienced animal behaviourist, said banning breeds did not work

This year, six people in the UK have died as a result of a dog attack. Ten deaths were reported last year.

Police data shows the number of injuries in England and Wales has risen by more than a third in the past five years. Last year, there were nearly 22,000.

The American bully XL dog is increasingly under the spotlight for these attacks.

Responsible dog ownership

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is now seeking advice on banning them.

But Hannah Molloy, a dog behaviour consultant for the All Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG), said banning breeds did not work.

"The problem with labelling a dog breed as dangerous is we get an incorrect narrative that some dogs are dangerous and others are not," she said.

Actually statistically in the past 10 years the dog you're most likely to be bitten by is a Labrador. So the data is not cohesive about this."

The animal behaviourist, from Birmingham, is campaigning for an overhaul of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and wants to see new legislation introduced focused on improving responsible dog ownership.

"This is huge. This is how we train dogs, how we breed dogs, the education that comes with being a dog owner."

Tom Potter owns a bully XL dog and said irresponsible owners, not breeds, should be targeted

Her view was supported by Tom Potter, from Wolverhampton, who owns a bully XL dog and said action was needed to tackle irresponsible owners, not specific breeds.

"Given the right training, the right infrastructure, they can be amazing family pets," he said.

"I do believe it should be the owners that are held responsible for the dogs, not the dogs themselves. People need to research the breed before they own one."