An eight-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after being badly mauled by two American pit bull dogs.
The youngster, named locally as Broagan McCuaig, is thought to have suffered severe facial injuries following the incident in the Gartharmlock area of Glasgow on Friday night. Her condition isn’t believed to be life threatening. However, there are concerns about her sight.
Police Scotland officers were called to the address at 5pm after the alarm was raised and brought the animals under control. Medics took the victim to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children where she was treated for injuries to her face, arms and legs.
The dogs, not believed to be an illegal breed, were seized by police and two people have been charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Local MSP Paul Martin said: “My thoughts are with the family. Kids should be able to live in their local community without fear. We have to take robust action to deal with this, and we have to give the victim all the support we can.
“It always seems to be children who find themselves in this position. We have introduced legislation to deal with the owners, but there are issues registering dogs.
“First of all we have to decide if these types of dogs should exist. There are questions that must be asked about their nature and tendency to attack. I can’t speculate on this situation, but there has to be a more robust regime in place to deal with owners. Many of them use the dogs to put themselves in charge of the local community. I feel very strongly about this and will be raising the issue in the Scottish Parliament.”
Local Councillor Maureen Burke also expressed her concern about what had happened. She said: “My thoughts are with the family. We need to get to the bottom of where these dogs were kept and how.”
The Dangerous Dogs Act outlaws specific breeds of animal. However, it is often difficult to determine if a dog is on the list. Tighter controls of dogs in Scotland came into effect in February 2011. Before then the only sanction available was the destruction of specific dangerous breeds. The new legislation allowed for control orders to be applied to any dog.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “I can confirm an eight-year-old girl suffered serious facial injuries after being bitten by two dogs believed to be American pit bull types. The incident occurred in the Garthamlock area of Glasgow at 5pm on Friday night. The girl was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children where she is being treated for her injuries. Both dogs involved in the incident have been seized.
“A male aged 34 and a female aged 33 have been charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act.”
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