A six-year-old boy had part of his scalp torn off and 'thought he was going to die' in a horror dog attack at his family home.
Vick Zidko screamed in terror when the American Staffordshire terrier, which had been bought at a pet from Facebook two weeks earlier, suddenly lunged at him and dragged him down the stairs. He was viciously scratched and bitten on his head and back, with the brutal attack only coming to an end when his family managed to prising open the dog's clamped jaws.
He spent five days in hospital where medics battled to reattach the torn-off piece of scalp, which was brought to the hospital by his parents beside a frozen bag of chips. Vick also needed more than 50 stitches in his head and face and suffered deep cuts to his back, the Mirror reports.
Now, the youngster's family have spoken out to warn others about the potential dangers of owning a pet that is not properly trained. His dad Vitalijus said: “It’s a nightmare and we never want any other family to go through this.”
The forklift truck driver said the family thought “long and hard” about getting a dog before spotting a puppy on sale for £200 on Facebook, and instantly falling in love. Vitalijus, 41, said the six-month-old dog was called Diesel and described as a Staffie by the breeder.
He added: “When we saw him he was really soft and jumping around. He captured our hearts.
“But after we got him home it became apparent he was completely untrained.”
The dog was chewing a bone last Thursday at 7pm just before he turned on Vick. The youngster's sister Gabriel, 18, said: “Vick came down the stairs quietly and Diesel started barking.
“He pounced on Vick, dragging him down two of the stairs. It was as if he saw Vick as a chew toy.
“He was ragging him about and scratching him.
“I started screaming and my stepdad [Vitalijus] and mum ran in. What sticks in my brain was my little brother pleading ‘stop, Diesel, stop’. I was trying to get the dog off. My mum was screaming ‘Oh my God, stop stop stop’.
“My stepdad jumped in front of me and tried choking the dog out, and that’s when my mum scooped Vick up. My stepdad told me to call an ambulance and he put [the dog] in the bathroom.”
The dad also required hospital treatment after he put his arm in dog’s mouth to stop the attack and was bitten. Gabriel, who was also covered in blood, said: “All I heard was my mum’s screams because she had seen the injuries.”
Mum Eugenija, 41, broke down in tears as she recalled the attack. She said: “I grabbed Vick and ran to the bedroom, locking the door. I was trying to calm him down. I put a towel on his head to stop the bleeding.
"He saw all the blood and said, ‘Mummy, am I dying?’.
“Then he asked is [his twin brother] Nick and Gabriel OK.”
The piece of scalp ended up on the floor at the home in Highfields, Doncaster, South Yorks, and was almost stepped on by a police officer. Eugenija, who moved to the UK from Lithuania 20 years ago, said: “The doctors could not believe how Vick kept smiling. He’s my superman.
“He’s having bad dreams and said he sees a ‘doggy attacking me again’.
“He said, ‘Promise me we’ll have no more dogs in our house’. The medics and our neighbours were amazing. He has to go back for another operation, we think.”
Following the attack, police issued a warning about buying dogs from social media adverts.
The dog was seized by officers and later destroyed. Investigations are ongoing.
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