A mum-of-three left traumatised by a vicious attack by two XL Bullies that had escaped their garden suffered a horrific “degloving” injury – and says she “thought she would die”
A traumatised mum-of-three “thought she would die” when she was attacked by two XL Bullies as she walked home from work.
Katie Elliot, 22, was dragged to the ground by the dogs, with the pair then shaking her and biting her repeatedly, ripping chunks out of her arms. The vicious attack occurred as the mum walked through Clock Face at around 10.55pm on May 15 last year.
At the time of the attack, Katie was on the phone to her 15-year-old sister, who was forced to listen helplessly to her terrified screams as the dangerous dogs repeatedly bit her arms. People living nearby rushed to help, using sticks to attempt to drive off the dogs, Kodak and Love – but the dogs continued to attack the helpless mum for around five minutes.
In the attack, Katie suffered severe injuries to her shoulder, chest and arms, including a ‘massive degloving injury’ to her right arm, which was bitten down to the bone, the LiverpoolEcho reported. Following the attack, a resident took the mum into their house, while Kodak was returned to his own Kelis Smith, who had been looking for the dogs since they’d escaped from her flat’s communal garden on Brock Hall Close. The second dog was found by police shortly after, while their own was arrested.
Kelis appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on November 6 and pleaded guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dangerous dog out of control causing injury. She was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Following the horrific attack, Katie had multiple skin graft operations, and a year later still suffers from pain and mobility problems.
In a victim statement read out in court, she said: “My sleep pattern has been affected and I still have nightmares about what happened. I have a nightmare that what happened to me is happening to my children. Sometimes all I can see is Kodak’s face. I had flashbacks where I feel I’m reliving what has happened. I will be watching TV or in the bath when I suddenly get the feeling that dogs are tugging on my arm.”
The traumatised mum explained that she is also unable to ‘leave the house’ on her own, she said: “I can’t even sit in my own front garden without someone being with me. I don’t feel safe enough. Since the incident I have only been able to pick my children up from school on a couple of occasions. I feel I have lost my independence.” She said the attack had left her feeling terrified of all dogs, adding: “I believe this will be a lifelong fear. I do not think this will be something I will ever overcome. This incident has left me feeling incredibly vulnerable and has impacted every aspect of my life.
“When the incident was happening I was on the phone to my sister and all she could hear was my screaming. She feels traumatised by what happened because she knew something very bad was happening and couldn’t do anything to stop it.” Katie added that her teenage sister has been left having nightmares about the attack and has to speak to a ‘counsellor to help her process what she heard’.
Sentencing Smith, Judge Ian Harris said: “This was a ferocious attack. The victim’s screams were heard by her sister, to whom she was speaking on her mobile phone just before the attack. On CCTV you can distinctively hear Miss Elliot’s screams. She has said she thought she would die.”
Kelis, who appeared in court in a large, black sports hoodie, showed no emotion as she was jailed – but became visibly upset when the judge added that the dogs would be destroyed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
