'She was in so much pain': Girl, 7, traumatised after being pinned down in vicious dog attack

ITV News' Rachel Townsend presents a special report on the alarming rise in fatal dog attacks.

Words by ITV News Producer Catherine Dinneny

The family of a little girl who was mauled by a dog say she has been traumatised and is plagued by nightmares.

Peyton was pinned down, scratched and bitten by a 10-month-old Akita while playing at her friend’s house in July.

The seven-year-old was left with more than a dozen cuts to her face and needed surgery following the attack.

It comes as a record number of people have been killed in dog attacks this year. Nine people have lost their lives in the UK so far, more than double last year.

Peyton's parents said she was left 'in so much pain' after being attacked by a Akita puppy

Speaking exclusively to ITV News, Peyton’s mother, Bronte Waddington, said her daughter has been left with physical and mental scars following the incident in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Recalling the harrowing incident, Bronte said: “I was driving back from work in pieces. In your mind you’re thinking it’s a small cut, no teeth involved, but a lot of damage had been done to her face.

“She was in so much pain, it’s just horrible. She had 13 lacerations, chunks of her skin taken out, and now it’s the mental side of things.

“She bottles it all up, but she’s having nightmares every night and daydreaming during school. She sees it happening again and again.”

The family now face a two-year wait for NHS counselling and are desperately trying to raise money so that she can have private treatment.

Bronte and her partner, Chloe Woodward, added: “Every day she’s having breakdowns over simple things. She’s having panic attacks, severe anxiety, it’s horrible for her.

“You feel useless, we can’t do anything. We just want to do everything we can to get her back to her old, bubbly self.”

Dog attacks have dramatically increased in recent years. In the year to April 2022, there were 8,819 hospital admissions in England due to a dog bite or strike, compared to 5,832 hospital admissions in the year to April 2010.

Of the nine deaths this year, four have been linked to American Bully XLs, a large, muscular dog that can weigh up to 60kg.

It’s prompted calls for the breed to be banned, although Bully Trader Robyn says the responsibility lies with the owners.

She told ITV News: “Although they are very big and very powerful, they have a very gentle nature. I trust my dogs with my child more than I would trust some human beings with my child. They would never harm her in any way.”

There are suggestions the rise in dog attacks could be linked to the increased demand for dogs during lockdown, when the price of pups soared.

But with little data gathered on dogs that are involved in attacks, it’s difficult to draw conclusions.

Robyn added: “People have become greedy and […] all they’re thinking about is money so they’re falling into the wrong hands.

“It's our job to be responsible, to know our dogs, know what situations they can and can't be in - the same as any other breed. This isn’t a dog problem, this is a human issue.”

Charities including the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Dogs Trust are also resistant to adding breeds to the banned list. They are now renewing their calls on the government to overhaul the current legislation, branding it a "flawed and failing approach".

The coalition want to see a move away from Breed Specific Legislation, which they say wrongly judges dogs based on their appearance.

Dr Sam Gaines, Head of Companion Animals at the RSPCA, said: “Aggressive behaviour is so much more complex. It’s around genetics and lifetime experiences, so widening the breed ban wouldn’t better protect public safety, but damage dog welfare and owners.

“What we want to see is a real focus on legislation that allows us to intervene at an early stage, is preventative in approach but also marries with some real strict penalties so that we can deter and punish those who do use dogs deliberately to cause harm.”

Those calls are something Peyton’s parents and Robyn also echo.

Bronte told ITV News: “We think people should have to go through training to prove they can look after dogs so these attacks stop happening. Owners need to have more ownership to prove they can look after dogs.”

“I’d like to see more stringency on who can own dogs in general,” added Robyn. “I feel like dogs aren’t very well protected in the UK. All dogs need to be in the right hands and in loving homes and not treated so terribly.”

So far the government has resisted calls for change, but says it has now formed a working group to help reduce the number of attacks.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “It is a criminal offence to allow a dog of any breed or type to be dangerously out of control and the police rightly have the powers to seize them in these circumstances.

“We recently commissioned wide ranging research into how we can best reduce the number of dog attacks in this country. We have since launched the Responsible Dog Ownership working group which brings together the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to see how we can go even further to reduce the number of tragic attacks occurring each year.”

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