An Ayr dog owner froze in fear as his Rottweiler ripped into a 12-year-old child.
The schoolboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered nerve damage after the hound ripped through his arm causing multiple puncture wounds.
Bystanders had to put a stop to the mauling with the boy's mum fearing the attack 'could have been worse'.
The boy was out walking to meet friends when he was pounced on by the animal.
The child required emergency surgery with medics left stunned by the horrific gaping wound.
Shocked eyewitnesses reported seeing the Rottweiler sprint across a main road to tear at the youngster during the brutal attack earlier this year.
Panicked motorists tried to alert the boy as the dog bolted across the road towards him.
Recalling the terrifying moment he was pounced on, the boy said: “I was just walking when I heard a car horn and when I turned round the dog was on me. I don’t remember much but it was really scary.”
Nearby hero workers rushed in to save the boy and chased the dog away before lifting the youngster over a wall to safety.
The dog’s owner was unable to intervene at the time because they were ‘too scared’, so the savage attack was only stopped by the bystanders who rushed to the boy’s aid.
The lad spent two nights in hospital including going under the knife to repair the wounds.
The boy’s mum says nurses treating her son had “never seen a dog bite like it.”
It took around 12 weeks for the boy’s painful wounds to finally heal.
And he admits that he doesn’t “have much feeling around the bite marks”, adding “when I touch the skin it’s like I’m touching someone else’s arm.”
The boy’s mum has slammed the owner as she calls on people to keep their dogs on leads after the attack has left her boy terrified of dogs including ones in his own family.
She said: “I am firm believer that bad dog breeds do not exist – but bad dog owners do.
“What happened to my son is proof of that and I hope people learn from this to stop future tragedies.
“Before the attack my son was the biggest animal lover in the family but that’s now changed – he’s now even wary around dogs he’s known for years like his gran’s dogs.”
The child added: “I definitely don’t like dogs anymore and now I cross the street if I see any dog coming towards me and I don’t like going to the park or beach where I see dogs off a lead.”
Following the attack, Nicolas Stewart, 28, from Ayr, was convicted of failing to control the dog at Ayr Sheriff Court in March and fined £300. The dog was put down.
The boy’s mum added: “No one wants to see a dog destroyed but the authorities must have had reason to believe there was a future risk.
“At the very least, keeping a dog on a lead in public places is a reasonable place to start in responsible dog ownership.
“What happened could have been much worse and I hope people learn from this.”
Damian White, Partner at Digby Brown in Ayr, added: “What happened to this young boy was truly traumatic – he suffered serious injuries but psychological scars have their own lasting impact too.
“While this dog owner was prosecuted a conviction is not essential for people to seek damages in the civil court.”
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