Huddersfield dog attack mum ‘will never look the same’

Mar 4 2010 By David Himelfield

Dog which attacked Waheed Akhtar

THE SISTER of the woman mauled by a bull terrier has blasted irresponsible owners of dangerous dogs.

Shaheen Akhtar said her sister Waheed would never look the same after the savage attack on Tuesday.

Waheed, 26, of Upper Mount Street, Lockwood, suffered severe facial injuries when she was attacked by an American bull terrier dog outside her home.

The dog is still on the loose and police have warned people not to approach it.

Shaheen said her sister will need to spend four weeks undergoing reconstructive surgery at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

The mother-of-two was pushing her one-year-old son Asudlla to a park when the loose dog tried to jump into his pram.

Waheed stepped in front of the dog which grabbed her leg taking her to the ground, before biting off her cheek.

Baby Asudlla was knocked out of his pram but suffered only minor scratches.

Shaheen, 23, said: "My sister is still in shock.

"All her cheek is gone and her head is bad in three different places.

"When I heard I couldn’t even believe it. You always hear of it happening to other people but when it happens it’s a big shock.

"Obviously we’re angry with the person with the dog. If they have it they should be able to control it.

"There are so many dogs running around on the street and no one is controlling them properly. The dog had no chain and it was running around.

"The doctor said her face won’t be the same."

Men working nearby saw the attack and ran to help.

Lee Rowa, 30, a bricklayer, said: "I heard shouting and saw the dog pulling a woman to the ground.

"A few of us started hitting it to get it off her but the poor woman was in a bad way".