South Yorkshire Police issued the stark warning in the wake of a flurry of incidents, including a man left with serious facial injuries and a woman terrified her baby could have been mauled.
It comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed by her family’s XL Bully in neighbouring North Yorkshire just over a week ago. Officers there said she had a ‘close, loving relationship’ with the animal.
Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, who is leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: ‘Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.
‘People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone.
‘Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.
‘You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.’
On Thursday, paramedics called for police after a man was attacked by his American Bulldog when he tried to pull it off his other dog, a pocket bully, at home in Sheffield.
He was rushed to hospital with cuts to his head, face and neck. The Bulldog was seized and remains in police kennels.
In another incident, a woman walking with her baby in a carrier on her chest was confronted by a marauding XL Bully that started jumping up at her child.
An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.
In addition to the human cost to some of these attacks, police also sought to highlight the financial cost in dealing with them.
Each response requires officers from several teams to attend, while dogs seized need to be transported, homed and cared for until any action is decided on.
Safeguarding checks then need to be undertaken, along with referrals for vulnerable people, while the investigation progresses to court.
Ms Cheney said: ‘We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls.
‘If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.’
Her force released horrifying footage last month showing a man being mauled by two dogs that had reportedly escaped into the street.
The animals, believed to be a Mastiff and a Cane Corso, attacked a 47-year-old man, who needed surgery for bites all over his body, and a 14-year-old girl in Sheffield.
Savannah died after being attacked by the family dog in Malton.
Neighbours saw her mum run into the street screaming ‘my baby’s dead’.
Savannah’s family said they were ‘utterly shocked’ and ‘devastated’ by her death in a statement, adding: ‘We can’t believe we have lost our wonderful girl who we love so much.’
Just days earlier, another little girl suffered gruesome injuries to her face when the family’s Doberman lashed out as she tried to give it a kiss.
And in September, a four-year-old girl was mauled by two XL Bullys while playing at the park with her mum in Sheffield.
She was rushed to hospital with several injuries but fortunately they were non-life threatening.
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