A mum has revealed how her young son was left “unable to walk” after an out-of-control dog launched a savage attack on him and a friend as they played football. Kimberly Fulbirg, 34, said her son Giorgi Fulbirg-Taylor, 10, required plastic surgery after suffering dozens of agonising bite wounds across his arms and legs last week.
Giorgi was left with numerous puncture marks and deep gashes in the attack by what his mum called a "mixed terrier" dog. Mum-of-two Kimberly said Giorgi had been having a kickabout on a council playing field with a couple of friends when the black dog charged after him.
It first sunk its jaws into his legs then latched onto his arms, with frantic locals using a paint scraper to try to remove it before it went on to attack his pal, Jimmy. Kimberly, who was at home at the time of the attack, rushed Giorgi to hospital after he was brought home in a car by those who had witnessed the mauling. And the veterinary care assistant has now called on dangerous dog owners to get harsher sentences after her son was left fearful of his own pooches.
She said: “There needs to be tougher laws around dog ownership and if you are found responsible you need to respect the consequences. Sorry is not enough.
"I could never forgive myself if it was one of my dogs that had gone and bitten not just one child but two children and caused significant injuries. Owners need to be more accountable. Giorgi hasn’t been back to school yet. He is still scared, and he won’t go back to the football field.”
Kimberly, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, said Giorgi was attacked on February 14 on a football field near Bierley Lane, with his brother Blake and friend Jimmy, both 15.
She said: “They had been playing for half an hour when they saw the dog as Giorgi was taking a shot at my other son. The dog came running over and popped the ball.
“Blake, who has autism, was quite angry that it had popped the ball. So he walked off the field to find an owner.
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“But before they had even got off the field to the footpath, they heard a scream, and they turned round to see the dog attacking Giorgi. Giorgi said the dog had come running towards him. He threw his football, thinking the dog wanted it.
“He then tried to run away but the dog kept biting his leg. And then it bit his right arm and latched onto his left arm and wouldn’t let go.”
Kimberly said Giorgi’s friends found three locals, who then tried to desperately free him from the jaws of the dog using a paint scraper.
She added: “One of them picked the dog up and one of them held the dog's head, trying to pull its mouth open. Somebody used the handle of a paint scraper and prised its jaws open.
"But the dog just wasn’t letting go. And when they finally got the dog off Giorgi’s arm, it wriggled free and attacked Jimmy, and then the others pinned the dog down again.”
Kimberly said a local man called Dean brought her sons home, which was where she found out about Giorgi’s injuries.
She said: “I said to Giorgi, ‘Come in the house’ but he said, ‘I can’t walk’. I initially saw the puncture wound on his left arm. But it wasn’t until I got to the hospital, and they cut off his tracky-pants, that I saw several bite wounds to both sides of his legs."
Giorgi was left with a puncture wound to his right elbow, three to four big holes on his left arm, as well as bite marks on his legs. He subsequently underwent plastic surgery on February 15, remaining in hospital until the following day as medics assessed the extent of his wounds. His friend Jimmy also needed to be treated by doctors for his injuries.
West Yorkshire Police have since appealed for information concerning the attack last week, while confirming the incident was under investigation.
A spokesperson said: “Police are investigating after reports of two people being bitten by a loose dog on a field in Bierley. It happened on Tuesday, February 14, sometime between 2.15pm and 3pm on a field just off Bierley Lane. Both victims required hospital treatment for their injuries. Enquiries are now ongoing with the owner of the dog and an investigation is underway.”
