A four-year-old boy will "never have a normal childhood" after he was savaged by an XL bully leaving him with "catastrophic facial injuries".
The XL bully dog called Nola had been staying at the home of Stacey Smith, 32, who was living on Wellesbourne Place, Norris Green, at the time. Nola, who belonged to her partner at the time, had been at her home for 10 days – but on August 13 2022 the dog savaged the young boy in the house's front garden.
Helen Chenery, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court today, Thursday, September 28 that the boy, who lived on the same street, had been around Smith's home several times that day to see if her son was home. However, shortly before 7pm the boy, who cannot be named, opened the front gate and entered the garden.
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Within seconds Nola burst out of the open front door and latched her jaws around the four-year-old's head. Ms Chenery told the court the boy's mum, who was walking just behind him, started screaming and "ragging" the dog to get it off her stricken son.
The court heard the "great deal of shouting and screaming" prompted neighbours to run to the boy's aid. Neighbour Mirislava Zaloudakova heroically pulled back Nola's neck while shouting "no" at the dog. She prised the dog away and forced the dog towards the back garden.
Another neighbour, Kieran Corran, ran into the front garden after his partner called his name and said "the dog has the baby, you have to get the baby". He was armed with a golf club and swung it repeatedly at the dog. When the dog had eventually been forced away, the neighbour picked up the boy and was "trying to close the wounds with his hands while rushing to the nearest car".
Smith stood inside her home address throughout the assault dressed only in a towel. She was said to have been in a "panic". Ms Chenery said the young boy was driven to Aintree University Hospital, but was soon transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.
The court was told he had a right temporal depressed fracture along with multiple facial lacerations. He needed a muscle graft to repair the most severe injuries – and all the scarring will be permanent although it should fade over time. He is also continuing to suffer with severe headaches and flashbacks.
The court was shown CCTV footage of the moment the young boy entered through the front gate, as well as photographs of his facial injuries before and after surgery. The boy's parents, who were both in court, left the room while the photos of their son were shown, while Smith sat with her head in her hands.
A victim impact statement from the boy's mum was read out to the court by Ms Chenery. She detailed how the young boy continues to "suffer with life changing injuries". The statement said: "The dog's tooth punctured his head. Medics told us if it had gone 1cm deeper then he would be dead."
The statement continued that the boy "won't have a normal childhood" because of the attack and at school he has been the victim of bullying due to his injuries.
She said: "He is just not the same child he used to be, both psychologically and physically. He cries out in his sleep, 'get the dog away from me'." The statement added: "He continues to suffer both physically and mentally…it is heartbreaking for us. Every time I close my eyes I can see the attack and I am reliving it. I feel sick and wish it was me."
Nola was seized by police and euthanised. However, his Honour Judge David Aubrey KC said the XL bully was examined before she was killed by a Merseyside Police dog specialist who noted the dog growling in warning at him as he entered the room. The court heard "no one was to approach or handle the dog."
Smith was arrested and interviewed by the police on the day of the attack. Ms Chenery said Smith had no convictions and was of previous good character – but "failed to intervene" during the attack. Smith pleaded guilty to being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury at the lower court on May 16 this year.
In mitigation, defence barrister Daniel Travers called the incident an "appalling situation". When questioned by Judge Aubrey about why the dog was there in the first place, Mr Travers said Nola had just had a litter of puppies and her owner thought the dog staying at Smith's would be a "sensible measure".
He admitted his client was not a "robust person" and did not make the best choices. However, he told the court as a mum Smith would not have allowed Nola to be around her son if she had any suspicion the dog would behave like this.
He added: "Nothing could have been foreseen" about the incident, but since that day his client has experienced PTSD and never wants to be around a dog again. Mr Travers called for a suspension of any sentence to ensure her son did not also continue to suffer. Smith's son is currently living with his dad.
Judge Aubrey told the court that following the "sustained, brutal attack" the boy will be scarred for life "emotionally, mentally and physically". He added: "There has been much public debate regarding dogs of this breed, if it be a breed.
"It is not for this court to comment on issues raised in public debate. This court is to apply the relevant law." He noted that although the XL bully is not yet banned, it is "prone to unpredictability".
Addressing Smith, he said: "In my judgement, you should never have been in charge of the dog. However, in my judgement the fault may lie elsewhere." Smith, now of Royal Quay, Liverpool city centre, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. She will have to carry out 20 rehabilitation days and 60 hours unpaid work as well as pay a surcharge.
Judge Aubrey told her: "If not for the courageous intervention of others [the dog] may not have simply left a trail of destruction, it would have been a trail of fatalities. I hope the young boy now continues to make progress in the forthcoming months." Smith, who burst into tears when she heard her fate, hugged the dock officer before leaving the courtroom.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Michael Cain, of CPS Mersey Cheshire said: "XL bully dogs are very much in the news at the moment. The government has announced that they intend to add XL bullies to the banned breed types listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act by the end of 2023.
"The dogs are large and muscular. The injuries this dog inflicted on this small child were horrific. The child was very lucky to survive. The Crown Prosecution Service said that Ms Stacey did not do enough to intervene or prevent the attack. The actions of her neighbours prevented things getting very much worse."
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