A Co Antrim mother has spoken out in anger after a dog attacked her young daughter and her grandad on Saturday.
Aine McCann's dad had taken her two children, aged three and five, to Yorkgate to enjoy an afternoon at mini-golf, when a dog latched onto her child's neck.
Dragging the youngster to the ground, the child's grandfather wrestled with it to get it off her, sustaining significant injuries to his arms.
Speaking to Belfast Live, the Belfast woman said the dog did not have a collar on and was unaccompanied.
"I could have been planning my child's funeral today. She could have been dead," Aine said.
"My daddy was walking with the kids at the corner of Asda and a Japanese Akita grabbed my daughter by the back of the neck. It pulled her down and the only thing that saved her was her coat. She had a light coat on before she left but I thought she would be freezing, so I changed it to the thicker one. My daddy was able to trail the dog off her.
"He pinned it against the railings and he held it there for 40 minutes until the warden came. His arms were mauled, he has nerve damage and infections. He has eight puncture wounds on one arm and four on the other.
"The police came after around 30 minutes and one of them helped my daddy to hold it while waiting on the dog warden.
"My son was there too, he is three. If it had of got a hold of him, he would have been killed."
Aine says she was away for the night, and her father had phoned her to tell her what had happened before she found out elsewhere.
"People were recording it, as it was happening," she added.
"My daddy wanted to tell me before I had seen it on Facebook. One man did run over with a rope to wrap around the dog to help and a lady had got my kids away because they were traumatised.
"Their aunt arrived and took them away from the scene. Their daddy was working near IKEA and left work to go and check on the kids who were in Tigers Bay, he then got to Yorkgate - it was still going on in that time."
Aine's daughter, Faye, is now left "traumatised" by the ordeal.
Speaking to the dog warden, they told Aine that the dog was not chipped and that an owner has not come forward.
"This will be playing on her mind but she is showing no emotions right now. As her mummy, it is hard to watch," she continued.
"I just want to use this platform to see if anyone knows who owns this dog. It was a white Japanese Akita. The warden has it now and he says if nobody comes forward within one week, it will be put down. Someone is bound to know who owns this dog.
"I want someone to be held accountable for this - for having that dog out and roaming in Yorkgate.
"My daddy collapsed as soon as he left the dog. He couldn't move. Adrenalin kicked in during that moment for him. His arms are now in bits. If it had of been me with them, they would have been dead because there is no way I would have the strength to restrain a dog."
PSNI officers attended the scene on Saturday and the next day, brought the two children Easter eggs.
A spokesperson told Belfast Live: "Police attended a business premises in north Belfast on Saturday March 19 th afternoon following a report that a large dog had attacked two children.
"One of the children sustained a bite to their neck.
"It was also reported at approximately 3.50pm that an older man had also been knocked over by the dog and sustained a bump to his head. He was treated by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service at the scene.
"Another man sustained puncture wounds to both arms whilst trying to restrain the dog.
"The matter has now been passed to the local dog warden, who will be carrying out an investigation."
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: "Following reports of a dog attack on Saturday 19 March, members of our dog warden service responded alongside the PSNI.
"The dog is now in our possession and we continue to investigate the incident. We would encourage any members of the public, with information that can assist the investigation, to please come forward and contact our dog warden service on 02890270431."
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