Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Monster dog ‘like a lion attacking an antelope’
Mary, 73, dragged into pond by vicious pit bull
AN ELDERLY woman suffered horrific injuries when a “monster” pit bull dragged her into a pond “like a lion attacking an antelope”.
Mary Rollinson, 73, was saved by five workmen who heard her screams as the dog pounced on her in woods.
Her right arm was ripped apart from shoulder to elbow, and she suffered terrible injuries to her face and back.
As she tried to fight off the animal, it bit off the top of her left middle finger.
Her partner Trevor Cornwell, 71, is convinced she would have been killed were it not for the workmen near Engine Fields in Yeadon, Leeds.
Mary, a retired cleaner, spent six weeks in Leeds General Infirmary, having skin grafts for injuries that will never fully heal.
The mum-of-one was so traumatised she has no memory of the attack.
“I saw it out of the corner of my eye, but apart from that I can’t remember anything,” she said. “The hospital told me it is the body’s self defence mechanism. I can’t thank the workmen enough, they were so brave.”
Trevor, a retired trucker, said the dog was so powerful it dragged Mary from the path and into a pond on August 27. “I’m sure if those guys hadn’t heard her screams it would have killed her, it was completely berserk,” he added. “One of the men caught it on video, it was massive, solid muscle and very, very aggressive, she never stood a chance. “The surgeons have done their best. The agony and trauma will always stay with her, it’s a miracle she’s still here. It’s beyond me why anyone would want to keep a dog like that, it was a monster.” One of the workmen described it as “like a lion attacking an antelope”. He said: “It was horrific. There were five of us trying to hit the dog off with sticks, it wasn’t moving.”
Det Insp James Entwistle, of Leeds District CID, said at the time of the attack: “There may have been previous incidents where people have been chased by the same dog.”
A 22-year-old man was held on suspicion of having a dangerous dog and released without charge under investigation. The dog is being held in a police compound.