The Lancashire Evening Post reports that John Hulls, 48, from Ingol, Preston, was bitten on his stomach by a suspected pitbull as he visited a villageshop on his way home from work. The attack was the third reported outside the same set of shops in the last few weeks, though each involved a different dog.
The dog that attacked Mr Hulls was left tied up outside the Nisa convenience store, in Village Green Lane, Ingol, at the door and attacked him without provocation as he walked in. Recently Preston Council have released figures showing that more than 1,800 escaped, dumped and suspected out-of-control dogs have been seized by enforcement officers in the city in the past six years and upwards of 200 dogs are expected to be seized this year. This is a drop for a high of nearly 500 in 2008/08. Anecdotal evidence suggests more ‘status dogs’ including mastiffs and Staffordshire bull terriers are being seized and ending up in kennels. Mr Hulls said following the attack, on December 3, concerned customers in the shop asked him if he was all right as blood started to seep through his top. Mr Hulls suffered personal injury as a result of the dog bite. He noted blood coming through his top and attended Royal Preston Hospital for treatment. He'd suffered puncture wounds from the dogs teeth and severe bruising. He had to have his wounds dressed for a week and take a course of antibiotics. He said: “ I confronted the dog owner in the shop and he basically said the dog was tied up, so it was not his responsibility. He didn’t even apologise. Preston Council was recently given a prestigious industry award for its work involving schemes such as microchipping events and visits to kennels and homes of dog owners to give advice. They are often called upon to seize dogs which either escape from homes or are abandoned by owners and are running loose. They will also respond if someone calls their officers to tell them they feel an owner is not in control of their pet.
Preston man savaged but council report drop in incidents