Kev has been unwell this week after being attacked by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Firstly I want to say that he is recovering well, although at the time I did not know if he would come away alive. The dog just came running out of a house as we were walking by in the street, (where Kev’s Nan lives) and I tried to get Kevin away but it caught us up and attacked Kevin, pulling him away from me. The owners did nothing to get the dog away, in fact they did not seem to know what to do - I was on my own! I couldn’t pull it because it had no collar, I kicked it with no effect then I remembered that their only weak spot is on the butt. However I was only wearing trainers (I normally wear Timberlands). I kicked it again and screamed right in its face. Somehow that did the trick and it let go. Kev ran off, I told a guy to grab him while I made sure the dog went back inside.
Kev’s ear was ripped away on the lower half and he was sedated at the vet’s so they could clean him up. The wound is being left to heal naturally, without stitches, and he has painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications to take. The guy who owned the Staffie came back to the house and I demanded that he pay the vet’s bill. He came round to see me later with some cash towards the fees, and he agreed to get rid of the dog. He had been saddled with it by a friend and really is not a dog lover.

Kev was kept at the vet’s surgery for three hours and he was obviously in a lot of pain that night, and the next day. On the following day he was virtually back to normal, and he is still just as sociable with other dogs. The dog that attacked Kev was rehomed within forty eight hours

It is a miracle that he wasn’t injured more badly and I am so grateful to have him back in one piece!

Kev had to go for another checkup on Friday and the costs are rising. If you can make a donation we would be very grateful.

Thanks,
Flora

The owner of a banned pit bull dog pleaded guilty on 25 April to owning the dangerous dog that mauled her to death. Ellie Lawrenson died when she was attacked by the pit bull terrier-type dog at her grandmother’s home in St Helens. Kiel Simpson, 23, appeared before Liverpool Magistrates and pleaded guilty to owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. His mother also appeared before Liverpool Crown Court charged with unlawful killing. Simpson was warned he could face jail. The maximum penalty under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is a six months prison term or a £5000 fine. He was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced on 16 May. Mr Simpson’s solicitor said his client felt “morally responsible” for the death of Ellie and that he “wanted to crawl into a hole”. The court heard the dog had been banished from the house after biting Kiel Simpson’s 19-year-old sister Kelsey on 21 November. She needed hospital treatment for puncture wounds to her thigh after the unprovoked attack. Mr Simpson had made efforts to give the dog to someone else after the attack on his sister.

Lawyers claim that Kiel Simpson had left instructions for the dog to be left outside the house but this had not happened. Jacqueline Simpson’s defence counsel indicated that she would plead not guilty at a later stage. She is also charged with possessing heroin. Ellie suffered fatal head and neck injuries in the attack at the house in Knowles House Avenue, in Eccleston, on New Year’s Day. The dog which attacked her was destroyed at the scene by Merseyside Police.

THE grandmother of Ellie Lawrenson, the five-year-old girl mauled to death by a pit bull terrier, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 12 April, charged with the unlawful killing of her granddaughter. Jacqueline Simpson is charged with manslaughter through gross negligence and possessing 3.95 grams of heroin. The 46-year-old was baby sitting Ellie Lawrenson at her home in St Helens, Merseyside, when the attack took place in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Her son, 23-year-old Kiel Simpson, appeared charged with possession of a banned dog under section one of the Dangerous Dog Act, the American pit bull terrier called Reuben, which killed his niece. Both have been remanded on bail until 25 April.