A child was seriously injured after being chased by two dogs while playing at a friend’s house – before a passerby came to his aid.
The 12-year-old is said to have sustained injuries to his face, back, chest and legs after his Cane Corso/American Bulldog’s cross suddenly «flipped» on Thursday afternoon.
Dogs tore the boy into the garden of the home in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, before paramedics called around 2pm.
The young man was taken to the hospital where he remains in serious condition.
A neighbor who lives on the street where the attack took place told The Mirror that she saw the end of the incident.
She said, “The boy was outside on the trampoline when the dogs attacked him. These are really big Cane Corso dogs.
“A man was walking next to him when he heard the little boy screaming and he saved his life.
“As he was trying to handle the dogs he was bitten on his leg, arm and hand and I heard him screaming.
«What he did was very brave.»
The dog’s owner has reportedly apologized to the boy’s family, who don’t blame them for the devastating attack.
The dogs were taken away and fined £500.
But the owner insisted her dogs were not dangerous and claimed that «something turned on them».
I told Sun Online : «They weren’t vile animals. They weren’t dangerous. They were just normal dogs.
“We didn’t raise them to be violent. They were raised around children. They are not violent dogs.
«We have lost two wonderful dogs. We are grieving.»
The boy was treated at home before being taken to hospital, while the man who came to his rescue, in his 20s, was discharged from hospital with injuries to his leg.
A Staffordshire Police spokeswoman said: «The 12-year-old boy remains in hospital in a serious condition.
«Ownership of the dogs was voluntarily transferred to the police.
«According to the advice of specialists, it has been established that dogs cannot be returned to their habitat due to violent action and must be destroyed humanely.»