A 10-year-old girl is in hospital after being savaged by two rottweiler dogs while she was out riding her bike in Dundee.
Rhianna Kidd was attacked around 11am on Sunday August 29 in Dryburgh Street, near to the shops.
The girl suffered a fractured jaw in the attack and will require plastic surgery. The dogs were destroyed on Monday evening.
The girl’s grandmother Irene Grady, who was keeping an eye on Rhianna from her house on Dryburgh Street, hurried to the scene.
"Her dad dropped her off at the end of the road at around 10.30am and I was watching her cycle towards me" said Mrs Grady.
"The next thing I knew, three dogs — two rottweiler and one rottweiler puppy — surrounded her. I didn't like the situation so I shouted to Rhianna ‘keep pedalling' but one of the dogs just grabbed her off the bike.
"One started biting her arms while the other went for her legs. Someone in a car pumped their horn and they stopped but when she got up they just knocked her back down."
Rhianna wrestled free from the dogs' grip three times but each time they pounced on her again.
"These dogs were like bulls. You should have seen the size of their heads," said Mrs Grady.
"When I got to her I didn't know what to do. I just kept repeating to the dogs ‘be good, be good.' They let her go and I managed to get her to the house. Once we were inside, the rottweilers were peering in the living room window. We were so scared."
The child was taken to the safety of her relative’s home and an ambulance was called.
The girl was then taken to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. She has since been admitted to the hospital and is being treated for injuries to her face and body. Her injuries are not life-threatening, however she has sustained a fractured jaw and requires plastic surgery.
Rhianna's grandmother Mrs Grady said: "Today has been a nightmare. I can still hear her screams,"
"You hear of this sort of thing happening but not on your own doorstep. She's in an awful mess. She's got bites at the back of her ears and will have to have her jaw wired.
"Her clothes were shredded and had to be cut off her when she arrived at the hospital. She has a bite under her chin and I'm just thankful they never got her throat or things could have been a lot worse."
"I've had alsatians all my life and I have a wee yorkie now but those were not dogs, they were machines."
Tayside Police said they had charged a 33-year-old woman in connection with the dog attack.
A spokesman said: "The woman has been charged under section three of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for failing to keep the dogs under control and a full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."
Tayside Police would like to speak to the motorist who stopped at the time of the attack and also to any other persons who may have information relating to the incident.
Tayside Police can be contacted on 0300 111 2222 or by speaking to any police officer.
IN DETAIL
