9:16am Thursday 28th September 2006
By Daily Echo reporter
A LEADING animal behaviour expert has warned that all dogs pose a risk to young children.
Ryan O'Meara spoke out after at least three serious incidents in less than a week.
New Milton youngster Shannon Hills needed emergency surgery after being attacked at her grandmother's home.
The four-year-old has horrific cuts to her face, head and neck after the dog struck when its muzzle was removed to allow it to be fed.
In the most serious incident, five-month-old Cadey-Lee Deacon was killed by two Rottweilers in the living quarters of a pub in Leicester.
It is believed the sleeping baby was dragged on to a flat roof and mauled to death by the dogs.
And in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, a two-year-old boy was attacked on the driveway of his grandmother's home by a Rottweiler.
This week also saw a woman appear before magistrates in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, to admit four charges of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog.
Toni Badcock admitted the offence after her American bulldog Buddy savaged a four-year-old boy.
George Brown needed four hours of reconstructive surgery and 200 stitches in his face after the attack last month.
Magistrates warned Ms Badcock she could face a lengthy prison term.
Mr O'Meara, editor of K9 magazine, said all dogs should be kept under close supervision in the presence of children and said no breed is "perfectly safe".
He added: "I am of the school of thought that you should never leave a dog alone with children - of any breed, of any type.
"They're animals and it is hard to gauge how they will react. It is my belief that accidents invariably will happen when dogs' owners are not in attendance."
Mr O'Meara said young children are often afraid when a dog barks and added: "Dogs in some cases respond to that fear. If somebody was to start screaming or crying you can often get an almost primal response in the dog.
"With a breed like a Rottweiler, that response could result in serious or even fatal injury."
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