The mother of a child who was bitten by a dog in Chippenham says her son approached the “happy” pet when it was tied to a fence around a play area.
A child was rushed to hospital after he was attacked by the animal, believed to be a springer spaniel, in John Coles Park at around 10.10am on Saturday (25 September).
The nine-year-old boy, who has grown up around a Staffordshire bull terrier without incident, is said to have approached the dog safely.
Mother Michelle told Wiltshire 999s that her son — who was with his friend and friend’s mother at the time — used what her family call the “sniff test” to check if the dog was safe to stroke.
Whilst the pet appeared “happy and panting” as it sat quietly in the park, it viciously bit the boy twice resulting in injuries to his chest and wrist. His lacerations required Steri-Strips.
“He told me he had been sat on a bench and the dog was close by. He said the dog looked happy and was panting, just watching people”, Michelle said.
Continuing: “He loves dogs, he knows how to behave around dogs and knows how to tell if a dog is in distress, he can usually tell if they are friendly – just like most people.
“So he judged this one and thought it looked okay so he held his hand out and it seemed okay, but when he went in closer the dog turned.
“He’s quite small for his age, if he had been much shorted he probably would have suffered life-changing injuries to his face.”
Michelle was clear that, as a dog lover herself, she would never wish for an animal to be destroyed. She hopes the police can locate the dog owner and advise them to have it muzzled in public to avoid a repeat of the weekend’s events.
The incident has caused her son a fear of dogs, including the other family Staffie.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, or knows the owner of the dog, is asked to call the police on 101 quoting log 99 of 25 September.
Wiltshire Police did not respond to our request for comment.
