Couple jailed after dog tore off toddler’s scalp in attack
ACOUPLE have been jailed after their banned pit bull-type dog ripped the scalp off a toddler during an “horrific” attack.
The young girl been playing with her older sister at a playground in Kent when she was attacked by the terrier, a court heard.
Michael Thornton and Hayley Eldridge had paid a teenage girl with cannabis to walk their new pet, but the girl lost control of it in the playground and it attacked the 18-month-old.
The court heard the toddler had her ponytail ripped out by the animal, which then dragged her round the play area by her head.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fought for her life as she was rushed to hospital after the incident in Chatham in April 2017.
In a statement read to Maidstone Crown Court yesterday, her father said she faces years of surgery after her scalp could not be re-attached.
He said the attack robbed his little girl of the most important moments of her life and added: “This act has changed my family’s life forever.”
Both Thornton and Eldridge, of Chatham, previously pleaded guilty to owning a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control in a public place under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Judge David GriffithJones QC issued an arrest warrant not backed for bail for Thornton after he failed to attend the hearing.
Jailing Eldridge and Thornton for more than two years each, Judge Griffith-Jones said leaving the dog with the teenage girl was “utter folly” and they had shown “reckless disregard for public safety”.
He added: “The consequences were appalling and tragic. The injuries caused to the little girl were horrific and life-changing. Her scalp was torn from her head. No little girl should have to endure such a dreadful trauma.”
The judge said he gave both defendants the benefit of the doubt that they did not know the dog was a banned breed.
On the afternoon of April 4, the dog was taken into a play area on the Jenkins Dale estate before the teenager walking it lost control, the court heard. It then mauled the toddler, biting her head and dragging her across the ground, ripping off a ponytail. A large part of her scalp could not be replaced and she has had to undergo weekly operations to replace a gauze shield protecting an exposed part of skull. She is likely to need a major muscle and skin graft once fully grown.
The dog was shot dead. Thornton, 27, and 29-year-old Eldridge had only owned the animal for around a week after re-homing what was advertised as a Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breed.
Eldridge was jailed for 21 months and 18 weeks and Thornton for two years in his absence. Both were banned from owning a dog for five years.
In October last year, the teenager who walked the dog pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control.She was given a 12-month supervision order.