Desperate scream of aunt after girl, 2, was mauled by ‘up to five XXL American Bully Dogs’ which burst through from neighbour’s back garden
The youngster suffered serious injuries in the horror attack, and has been rushed to hospital
A HERO aunt screamed “the dog’s got the baby!” before fighting off a pack of mutts mauling her two-year-old niece.
The youngster, named locally as Ella, suffered serious injuries after the “huge” dogs escaped into the garden where she was playing with two other children, aged four and six.
Merseyside Police have today charged Andrew McGowan, 35, on suspicion of having dangerous dogs out of control.
They said the attack could have been worse if the girl’s aunt had not intervened when the dogs attacked shortly after 3.30pm on Sunday, but it remains unclear if the tot will make a full recovery.
The aunt grabbed the youngster and ran with her in her arms to the front of the property, in Dingle, Liverpool, where neighbours rushed to help.
An air ambulance took the youngster to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, where she remains in a “serious but not life-threatening” condition.
The aunt was taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where she received treatment for minor injuries.
A neighbour who saw the aunt, who has been praised by cops for her actions, said she was screaming: "The dog's got the baby! The dog's got the baby!"
The neighbour added: "I can't even actually think about it now," and was too upset to speak further.
In the aftermath of the “savage” attack cops seized dogs and arrested 35-year-old McGowin.
Neighbours said the dogs were kept in cages at the back of the house and may have escaped through a hole in the fence.
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A family member, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “I found out yesterday tea time. I was devastated – I couldn’t believe it, that something like this could happen to such a tiny beautiful little thing.
“We’re on our way to the hospital now to see how they’re doing.”
Supt Mark Wiggins, of Merseyside Police, today confirmed the breed of the dog as an American Bully Dog, which is not a banned breed, adding that there were 11 of the animals in the three-bedroom, mid-terraced property.
Supt Wiggins said suspicions the owner was breeding the dogs was also a line of inquiry for police.
He said: "There were 11 dogs in that property yesterday, either in the back garden or in the house.
"We know five of them were adult dogs and six of them were puppies. We have had them assessed today and we can confirm they are not a banned breed.
"But what we do know is that the dogs are, what we believe at this time, is that the dogs are American Bully dogs, and we need to do some more inquiries to establish exactly what the nature of that dog is."
Supt Wiggins added: "There were three young children playing in that garden at the time, aged two, four and six and that the 57-year-old auntie who was in that property, was in the garden at the same time.
"Now she's managed to get the two older children back into the property unharmed but unfortunately she's been hurt herself with minor injuries while she's been trying to protect the two-year-old.
"She [the girl] has got extensive injuries to her face, to her neck and to her body and only time will tell if she fully recovers from that attack.
"We know one, if not more, of these dogs was involved in the attack but we need to establish what went on.
"If the aunt of that two-year-old child hadn't intervened we could have been looking at a much more serious situation in this case."
He described the victim's family as traumatised and appealed to the public to report any worries about dangerous dogs or irresponsible owners to police.
He added: "If you do insist on having a dog, you should put a muzzle on it if you have it in public."
A grandmother living in the area said: “I've heard he was breeding them, I didn't even know they had dogs.
“There are quite a few dogs in the area.
“It's scary, there's loads of children around here, it makes you scared to let them out. It makes me feel scared and frightened."
House-to-house inquiries are being carried out in the area, and detectives are still on the scene conducting forensic examinations.
Anyone with information can call detectives on 0151 777 4065, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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