Dog 'Savages' 12-Year-Old Girl's Arm In Front Of Her Mother During Walk

A 12-year-old girl was left with horrific injuries after she was “savaged” by a dog while walking with her mother at the Stockwood Nature Reserve in England on Sunday.

Speaking to Bristol Live, Rosie Smith said she and her daughter Morgan were walking their dog at the reserve when the girl walked across the path to retrieve her pet’s ball. A man with the other dog, a Neapolitan Mastiff, passed the ball to Morgan and suddenly the unleashed canine jumped on her daughter and clamped its jaws around her arm for almost half a minute. The dog’s owner began punching the canine in order to free Morgan from its jaws following which the animal let go of the girl.

Recalling the incident, Smith said, "I think he was a puppy and was being more playful than aggressive. He wasn't wearing a collar and wasn't on a lead. Our dog was on our lead.”

Smith then confronted the owner who told her the dog had “never done anything like this before." Smith immediately called the emergency services. Paramedics arrived at the scene and treated the victim before she was rushed to a nearby hospital where she received stitches.

"I really want this man to be caught. It was such a horrific incident, the dog absolutely savaged my daughter's arm. When she came back over she was in shock and I tried to calm her down and tell her it wasn't as bad as it actually was. Once she had calmed down I went into shock. I don't feel safe going to walk our dog now,” Smith said.

Police said they were investigating the incident and were looking for the dog’s owner

"We're investigating after a dog bit a 12-year-old girl. The dog was believed to be a grey Neapolitan Mastiff and its owner was described as a white man, about five feet, eight inches tall with a bald head and wearing a white polo shirt,” a police spokesperson said.