Youngster Suffers Facial Injuries

Reports of yet another dog attack over the festive period highlight that more should be done to raise awareness of the risks associated with certain breeds, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell has suggested.

Eleven-year-old Finn O’Mahoney from Wolverhampton suffered facial injuries after being attacked on Christmas Day by a Chinese Shar Pei dog that his family had taken in over the festive period.

The animal – which was checked by a vet before the family took it home – was destroyed afterwards, while the youngster was left needing plastic surgery.

Reports of the attack have come around a week after a woman in south London was fatally injured by a Belgian mastiff in an attack at her home. In addition, a Labour MP has also recently called for changes to the legislation in place in relation to dangerous dogs.

Katrina Elsey, who specialises in dog bite claims at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Attacks from pets can have a lasting emotional and physical impact on all kinds of people, particularly youngsters.

“The past week has shown that perhaps more efforts need to be made to address this issue, such as a wider campaign to raise awareness of the breeds that can potentially cause the most harm to humans.

“Lessons need to be learnt from these most recent incidents, with a view to ensuring that people can be kept safe from any harm in the future.”