Dog rips off six-year-old girl's ear in latest frenzied mauling

A SIX-YEAR-OLD girl had part of her ear ripped off by a dog on Sunday morning and has been hospitalised with further injuries to her neck and shoulder.
 
Her family claim the attack, in Chingford, Essex, ended only when her father repeatedly punched the black and white bull terrier in the head. The owner then allegedly gave the girl’s father a false address and left the scene. The girl remains in a stable condition in an Essex hospital where she was taken for surgery.
 
At Thames Magistrates Court in east London today, Gary Hindley, 56, an unemployed builder, pleaded guilty under the Dangerous Dogs Act to allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place and causing injury to the child.

The attack provides a vivid illustration for campaigners who last week called for a speedy change in regulation to prevent dog-related violence.

Last Thursday, The Guardian published NHS figures showing a 120 per cent rise in young people being admitted to London A&E departments with dog-bite injuries over the last five years.

More than 6,000 adults and children were admitted to hospitals after being “bitten or struck by a dog” in the year up to March 2011, the fifth successive year-on-year increase. The newspaper also says 12 Royal Mail workers are attacked by dogs every day.
 
There has been an increase of reports about menacing hybrids being bred as status or weapon dogs. The government has banned certain types of dogs, including the pit bull terrier, but MPs and animal welfare groups want to see laws extended to ensure dog-owners act responsibly.
 
The RSPCA has called for compulsory microchipping for dogs so owners can be identified following a violent attack. Speaking just four days ago to his local paper, the Hucknall Dispatch, Graham Allen, Labour MP for Bulwell, said: “We cannot wait until cases come rolling in. We must listen to these charities, update the law and prevent dog attacks from happening.” ·