Girl, 12, savaged in blood-soaked dog attack on Leeds farm 'feared she would die'
A young girl who was savaged by a vicious dog that clamped onto her leg has told a court that she feared she would be mauled to death.
The terrified youngster was just 12 when the Belgian Malinois / Dutch Herder dog escaped and sank its teeth into her calf, leaving her soaked in blood and needing surgery.
Paige Hetherington, 32, appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control that caused injury.
She had even attempted to force the girl to lie and come up with a story about how the injury was caused.
It was the second time the dog had attacked a person having bitten a police officer’s leg, the court heard.
In a victim impact statement read out by prosecutor Andrew Pickin, the young victim, who is now aged 15, outlined the devastating impact of the attack.
She said: “It was the worst day I have ever experienced.
“The dog had its jaw around my leg...I thought I was going to be mauled to death. Nobody came to help me.
“Blood was pouring from my leg. I saw open, gaping wounds. I was so scared because there was so much blood.
“I will never get over what happened to me and I’m worried about it haunting me for the rest of my life.”
The girl said she is now petrified of all dogs, had to undergo initial surgery to close the wounds and plastic surgery since.
Her leg is still numb due to the nerve damage and she is uncertain if the scars will ever fade.
The court heard that the girl was with her friend on July 2, 2022, when they went to Coney Moor Farm in Methley, where the friend’s father was living in a caravan.
Hetherington, who was the dad’s partner at the time, was present and she had been drinking.
The victim felt intimidated by what Hetherington was saying, so she decided to leave.
Hetherington grabbed the barking dog as the girl walked towards the gate, but the dog slipped from its collar and chased her.
Hetherington was heard to shout “run” as a warning, but the dog sank its teeth into the girl’s leg, and shook her for around 30 seconds.
She later said Hetherington did nothing to stop the dog, or attempt to force it to release the youngster.
After letting go, the girl continued to run, despite pouring with blood. A man came to her aid and gave her a tea towel to put on the wound.
But Hetherington then caught up and told the girl to not tell anyone about the attack.
The youngster had four two-inch cuts to her calf and two other smaller wounds. She was initially in hospital for two days.
Hetherington, of Graham Drive, Castleford, denied wrongdoing and only changed her plea on the day of trial.
She did so on a basis - that it was not her dog and she had not fitted its collar - which was accepted by the Crown.
She was due to be sentenced last week but turned up at court drunk and was held on remand.
She appeared in court via video link from HMP New Hall this week. She spent much of the prosecution’s opening of the case shaking her head before bursting into tears.
She has 19 previous convictions for 30 offences, including five for violence. She was jailed in 2020 for affray and an offensive weapon charge.
Mitigating, Clare Walsh said Hetherington had tried to keep hold of the dog before it “slipped” its collar.
Ms Walsh added: “She has to accept in law that it falls on her shoulders. She is upset and very apologetic.”
In an ironic twist, Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said that if Hetherington had made no attempt to restrain the dog, she would not have landed herself in trouble because it was not her animal and therefore not her responsibility.
However, she was drunk at the time, did nothing to help and tried to force the girl to lie.
He gave her an 18-month sentence, but suspended it for 18 months, which led to Hetherington bursting into tears again.