Dog attack - TODDLER ATTACKED BY COLLIE

A toddler is recovering in hospital after receiving 200 stitches to his face following an attack by his grandmother’s dog. Joshua Mann, two, was mauled by the family collie as he stroked the animal.

Horrific pictures show the extent of Joshua’s injuries, with deep scars crisscrossing his face. His family have been told he will have to endure further surgery before he can return home to Brockworth, near Gloucester.

His mother, Lisa Mann, 23, said she was shocked when she first saw her bloodied son in hospital. “I thought he was going to die. He looked in so much pain,” she said. “All I wanted to do was pick him up and hold him, but I wasn’t allowed.”

The attack took place on Saturday when Joshua was at his grandparents’ farm in Andoversford, near Cheltenham. “Joshua was stroking the sheep dog, Rossie, when she jumped up and latched onto his face. Rossie pulled him to the ground and wouldn’t release him,” Miss Mann said.

“His dad and others ran over and started punching the dog to get him to let go.” While many dog attacks that grab the headlines are by illegal breeds such as pitbulls, the family said this incident was a warning to others that all dogs can be dangerous.

“You just need to be more aware, if a dog is not brought up around children, if they’re not used to them, they can just go,” she said. “People naturally think it’s pitbulls, rottweilers and the other dangerous breeds, but this was a collie. It’s not usual that a collie would do this, but he wasn’t brought up with children and snapped,” she said.

An RSPCA spokeswoman stressed that dangerous dogs “are not defined by breed”. The national Responsible Dog Owners Campaign is working hard to campaign for better education for dog owners to encourage critical training and early socialisation of all dogs.

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