A large aggressive dog allegedly bit a grandmother's finger clean off during a savage attack as she walked her daughter's smaller crossbreed, who was also mauled.
Folake Adoti-Ryan claims her 61-year-old mum - who did not wish to be named - was walking pet Ebony near their home in King's Heath, Birmingham, when the incident occurred on Sunday, April 30.
She says she had crossed the road on seeing the large dog without a lead at around 8am but it followed her, almost getting hit by a car.
Folake, 39, said her mum was knocked to the ground by the dog - whose breed is unknown - and passed out for a few seconds before regaining consciousness to allegedly find the big dog savaging the family's Staffy-Labrador-Springer.
She tried to get the attacker off Ebony and screamed so loud for help she lost her voice, she claims.
Several people are said to have then stepped in, including an off-duty police officer, with one person even using a metal bar to try ward off the animal as it sunk its teeth into the smaller pet's neck and chest.
"In trying to pull the dog it has turned around and bit my mum’s left index finger off," Folake told the Mirror.
"Someone who lived nearby got a mug of water and poured it over the dog which shocked it and it released my dog and eventually moved away."
However, as her mum and Ebony tried to take shelter in a nearby home, the dog is said to have charged again and they again struggled to keep it away due to it having no collar on.
Folake understands six emergency calls were made, with an ambulance and multiple police officers arriving at the scene.
Her mum's finger was retrieved from some nearby grass and she was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, she said.
"They couldn’t save it as it was too battered, so all they did was minor surgery to kind of close up the injury, in the meantime," Folake said.
Ebony was rushed to an emergency vet by Folake's husband Matt Ryan, 38, where it was found she had suffered internal bleeding, as well as deep cuts, the owner explained.
The 10-year-old dog, however, has survived with some antibiotics.
Folake said: "What saved her was the collar. You can see where the teeth had gone through it. She had internal bleeding because the dog had got so far deep into her neck and part of her chest."
Folake's mum has had to return to hospital multiple times since the incident, for treatment and bandages changing, having also needed stitches to her right hand.
She said: "For the last two weeks I’ve basically had to wash her, put her in the bath because of her bandages.
"She’s not been able to do any cooking or anything like that.
"I see her at night sometimes and she’s obviously having nightmares where she’s screaming 'help' because she was screaming so much and so loudly she lost her voice.
"She’s traumatised."
Folake didn't witness the alleged attack but says she has seen the aggressive dog before, and like her mum even recently crossed the street to avoid it due to it not being on a lead.
She said what's made things worse for her mum is they don't know exactly what is happening with the police investigation.
After chasing West Midlands Police, she claims a 101 call handler and then the investigating officer both confirmed a dog handler visited the dog and its owner but deemed it not a danger.
She is awaiting confirmation as to whether any further action is being taken.
Folake said she is "shocked" that the dog has allegedly been deemed safe and nothing further has been confirmed when a "a life-changing injury has occurred".
She said the handling of the case overall has been "appalling".
"When something happens there’s a victim code of conduct that police are supposed to follow," she explained.
"It includes making sure you take a statement on time, letting the victim know about the next steps. We've heard nothing."
Folake said a 101 call handler read out the case notes to her on Monday.
She claims it showed the investigating officer had noted that she had spoken to her mum once over the phone "but couldn't really understand her accent" and no formal statement was taken.
Folake said her mum - who splits her time between Birmingham and London - has lived in the UK for 30 years and speaks fluent English, and believes the note is just a lazy excuse.
"The only reason we’ve had anything is because I’ve been calling every week and trying to speak to somebody," she continued.
"If I hadn’t done that we wouldn’t know the dog had been released. It’s been absolutely atrocious behaviour from police."
Folake said her mum often takes her five-year-old daughter out with Ebony and worries what would have happened if she had been there during the attack.
She is appalled that with dog safety campaigns being heavily pushed by forces across the UK that WMP don't seem to be taking the incident seriously.
"They know what happened, the witnesses told them what happened," she said.
"Does it need someone to die first? Year on year there are increases in dog attacks. I am a dog owner, I’ve had my dog for 10 years but I can assure you if my dog even snaps at another person I will be going to the vets and saying I don’t feel comfortable having this dog because I don’t know what it’s capable of.
"The owner didn’t do anything. The police haven't let us know how we could press charges. The owner didn’t show any remorse, they haven’t said sorry.
"I dread to think how many incidents happened previously that weren't reported or just got ignored.
"My mum and dog are alive because people put their lives at risk to help. If they hadn’t then my dog would be dead and my mum would be a lot more hurt.
"The systems in place have not worked, the victim code has not been followed at all."
Folake said she plans to make an official complaint against the police.
"But what outcome are we going to get? Sorry?" she added.
"A sorry is not going to bring her finger back."
The Mirror has contacted West Midlands Police for comment.
