Dog bites off part of toddler's nose during visit to rescue centre

A toddler had part of her nose bitten off when she was attacked by a dog at a rescue centre.

Alice Eady, two, was attacked by the dog which was ‘running loose’ when she visited the AA Dog Rescue Centre with her family who were looking to adopt a dog.

Her mum Olivia, 22, had turned to fill in some paperwork for their new dog when the dog, described as a small cross-breed, bounded over and jumped on Alice, biting off part of her nose in the attack in June 2018.

Olivia, a full-time mum of three, said: "We went there to rehome a dog after we saw one on their website and came across one of their dogs.

"When it happened I was filling out paperwork because we had seen a dog we wanted to rehome.

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"There were dogs running around and they had been put away a couple of times and someone put them away.

"Someone had let them back out again and one of them approached my daughter and she turned around to say hi and it just jumped at her."

Olivia said the small dog was running around the rescue centre in Basildon, Essex when it jumped up at Alice and bit her.

"I just felt shocked,” she said. “I didn't know how bad it was. My partner Zach was shouting: 'She's missing part of her face.'

"We took her outside and there was so much blood I couldn't see how bad it was.

"One person threw a towel over her and said she was fine. Someone else came up to us and said she might need a tetanus.

"A small triangle of her nose was taken off and the hospital said they were going to clean it up.”

Alice was taken to hospital and doctors decided her wounds needed stitching and her parents were later told she may need reconstructive surgery.

Olivia said Alice is now frightening of dogs and will cry if she hears barking.

Karen James, 49, of Latchingdon, was handed a 12-month community order for being the owner of a dog out of control which caused injury at Chelmsford Crown Court in January.

She was also made to pay £250 in compensation, £85 for the victim surcharge and was made subject to a condition of residence.

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