THE family of a seven-year-old Co Antrim boy who almost died after being savaged by a large Japanese fighting dog have called for a ban on large dogs in urban areas.
The animal inflicted severe injuries on Gary Brown, puncturing his skull and ripping skin from the back of his head.being stable in Antrim Area Hospital.
It is believed the boy and a friend were on a fence when the dog dragged him into a garden and began savaging him. Local people had great difficulty separating the powerful dog from the child as it continued to try to maul him. The dog was destroyed immediately.
The child's father, Mr Stephen Brown, said yesterday that while he bore no ill-will to the dog's owner, certain breeds should be banned from built- up areas.
He said when he was called to his son he believed he was going to die. "The back of his head was practically ripped away. There were quite a lot of people around by that time and they were trying to get the dog off him but it kept going back for Gary.
"He is in a lot of pain now. I've asked him and he doesn't remember much about what happened. I just hope it all doesn't come back to him.
"Gary was just playing with his friend. They were climbing the fence when the dog went for Gary. It got him by the trouser leg and pulled him down and attacked him repeatedly."
Despite an outcry some years ago following fatal attacks the breeding and rearing of fighting dogs and breeds like the Japanese Akita, which attacked the boy, continue.