Out-of-control dog mauled three people in separate attacks

Out-of-control dog mauled schoolgirl, 11, man, 74, and woman, 20, in three separate attacks – as owner of ‘dangerous and crazy’ Alsatian-type is jailed for two years

• Girl suffered deep wound to her wrist and still has nightmares about the attack
• Pensioner was ‘screaming and yelling’ for the dog to let go after it bit him
• Asylum seeker Faisal Waleed from Hull ‘kicked and punched the dog’, court told

An out-of-control ‘dangerous and crazy’ dog savagely bit and injured an 11-year-old schoolgirl, a 74-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman during three separate attacks.

The girl suffered a deep wound to her wrist after the dog suddenly ‘lunged at her’ as she walked home from school and been left suffering nightmares, Hull Crown Court heard.

Faisal Waleed, 30, of Hull, admitted three offences of being the owner of a brown Alsatian-type dog that was dangerously out of control and caused injury on November 30, December 1 and December 16.

Rachel Scott, prosecuting, said that, on the first occasion, a 74-year-old man was out on his daily morning walk at 8am in Victoria Dock, Hull, when a large dog ran out at him from behind a wall in the Lock Keepers Court area and attacked him by biting his right arm.

Faisal Waleed, 30, from Hull, has been jailed and banned from owning a dog indefinitely

The dog took him to the ground and the pensioner was yelling and screaming at it to let him go. 

Waleed, an asylum seeker and originally from Kuwait, tried to get the dog off the victim.

It initially let go but it then bit his left shoulder before biting the man on the right shoulder.

Waleed apologised and offered the pensioner money and a taxi home. 

He also offered to telephone for an ambulance and to clean the wound but the victim ‘understandably refused’ and went to hospital on foot.

The pensioner later said: ‘I am now very conscious of any dog that I see in the street. I now feel very anxious when I see dogs off-lead.

‘I was fortunate enough to be wearing a thick coat, which took in most of the damage. I think that if I had not been wearing it, I would have been more seriously injured.’

The next day, a 20-year-old woman was walking in Lock Keepers Court at 7pm when she saw Waleed with two large dogs. 

The one that had attacked the man the day before was on a lead but Waleed was not holding it and the lead was dragging along the ground.

The 11-year-old schoolgirl suffered a deep wound to her wrist, pictured, that had to be stitched

As the woman and her mother walked by, that dog jumped towards the daughter, taking hold of her right arm in its mouth and biting down. Waleed did not try to help.

‘The dog continued to bite her arm and jumped up towards her face,’ said Miss Scott. ‘This went on for about one minute.’

Waleed did then get off the bench where he had been sitting and struggled to pull the dog off the woman.

The woman’s jacket, valued at £300, was torn. She suffered red marks and bruises to her arm.

‘She now has an increased fear of dogs,’ said Miss Scott. 

In the third incident, on December 16, an 11-year-old girl was walking home from school on Lock Keepers Court when she saw the dog being walked on an elastic lead rather than a proper lead. 

Waleed was holding it with only one hand, the court was told.

As the girl walked by, the dog started barking at her and she had to back away. 

‘The dog lunged at her and broke away from the defendant,’ said Miss Scott. ‘It bit her on the left wrist, causing her to the fall to the floor.

‘She was screaming and could see blood running down her arm. The defendant pulled the dog away, initially without success. On pulling a second time, it did let go of her. A passer-by saw what happened and helped her and called an ambulance.’

Waleed said: ‘Please, I’ll do anything. Come back to my flat.’ He started to punch and kick the dog repeatedly, the court was told. 

The girl suffered a deep wound to her wrist, which had to be stitched.

Her mother later said that the girl, now aged 12, suffered nightmares and had been referred for therapy, although she was still waiting. She was now scared of dogs. ‘She loved dogs before this,’ said the mother. ‘She is still extremely frightened of dogs and now doesn’t want to go anywhere near them,’ said the mother. 

‘The nightmares are still continuing and the nightmares are upsetting her greatly,’ she added. ‘Her personality has changed. She has lost a lot of confidence even now, six months later.’

During police interview, Waleed showed concern for the girl’s welfare. 

‘He knew his dog was dangerous and crazy,’ said Miss Scott. 

It was unwell when seized by the police and was later put down after Waleed apparently did not want to pay vet’s fees for it, the prosecutor said.

Julia Baggs, mitigating, said: ‘These are troubling offences, which led to deeply unpleasant injuries.

‘He was living alone at the time in a flat on Victoria Dock. He was struggling clearly with the dog’s behaviour and was not aware that it was going to be aggressive.

‘The dog has been destroyed. He doesn’t recall being asked to pay vet’s fees.’

Waleed fully understood the impact of the dog attacks on the victims and he wanted to apologise. 

The court was told Waleed had left Kuwait because of fears of persecution for religious reasons. 

Judge John Thackray KC told the defendant: ‘All three victims were attacked and injured. Your victims must have been terrified. It must have been obvious to you, if not before the first incident, then inevitably after the second, that your dog could behave dangerously.

‘You behaved with a reckless disregard for the safety of others. The incidents could so easily have led to a fatality. Only good fortune prevented that.

‘Understandably, your actions have had a profound effect upon your victims. They may never fully recover from these attacks.’

Waleed was jailed for two years and was banned from owning a dog indefinitely.

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