A 3-year-old girl is recuperating from surgery after a dog bite, and her father claims that the dog’s owner departed without uttering a word after the incident.
Reports from the Daily Mail and Kent Online indicate that on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 17, 3-year-old Bunnie Skinley, together with her father Rowen Skinley and her two siblings, was heading home in Rainham, Kent, when a dog unexpectedly attacked Bunnie on the arm, lacerating her flesh.
The event occurred on Mierscourt Road in the town, next to an elementary school, at around 3:30 p.m. local time, after the collection of children from school, as reported by several publications.
“The incident occurred adjacent to the school on the main thoroughfare,” father Rowen recounted to Kent Online. “I was merely strolling home following the school drop-off.” The pathway is somewhat constricted, and a lady was walking her dog directly on the road.
“Suddenly, the dog lunged at my daughter and knocked her to the floor,” he added. “The owner successfully extricated the dog, but in the process, it lacerated [Bunnie’s] skin.”
Rowen said that he promptly intervened and applied pressure on his daughter’s wound to halt the hemorrhaging, as surrounding bystanders came to assist.
“Witnesses reported that my daughter did not extend her hand towards the dog,” he informed Kent Online. “The woman vanished without leaving any information or details.”
Witnesses said that the dog was a Cockapoo, a hybrid of a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle, often seen as safe and family-friendly, according to PetMD.
Kent Police did not promptly reply to PEOPLE’s inquiry for further information on Saturday, June 21.
Bunnie is now recuperating from arm plastic surgery, a treatment her father said was rendered more perilous due to the three-year-old’s pulmonary disease and acute asthma.
Rowen informed Kent Online that she is now healthy, if somewhat rattled, and often expresses her fear of the dog.
The police informed the local media that an investigation is under progress. Individuals possessing information about this event, particularly those having CCTV or doorbell video of the assault, are urged to get out to Kent police.
Dog assaults have been a subject of discourse in the U.K. subsequent to the government’s prohibition of many breeds in England and Wales, including XL Bullies, Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosas, and Dogo Argentinos, in response to a surge in dog attacks.
In December 2023, legislation was enacted prohibiting the breeding, sale, abandonment, gifting, or intentional release of an XL Bully in England or Wales without an exemption certificate.
Bunnie’s father is apprehensive that the owner of the Cockapoo departed after the incident.
“It is profoundly distressing that the woman did not halt, as it instills concern for the safety of other children,” Rowen told Kent Online.
