A 24-year-old woman says feared she was going to die as she was mauled by three dogs in a horrific attack in south London.
Lakaydia Reynolds lost movement in her right arm and suffered serious injuries to her face when she was mauled in a park in Tulse Hill on June 6.
One of the dogs that attacked her was found to be an American pitbull terrier - a breed banned in the UK - and was later put down.
“I knew those dogs were going to kill me,” Ms Reynolds told the BBC’s Reliable Sauce podcast, describing her desperate attempt to free herself from their jaws on what she considers “the worst day of my entire life”.
Ms Reynolds was walking through a small park in residential Abbots Park, Lambeth, shortly after midday when she was approached by two dogs, which were off their leads and ignoring the calls of their owner.
One of the dogs leapt at her and bit her face, prompting the other to begin biting her legs.
Ms Reynolds recalled “screaming” to their owner for help.
But when he approached her and attempted to stop the attack, a third dog he was walking on a leash also began mauling her.
“It was just me against these three dogs,” she told the BBC.
“The owner himself actually started asking for help, which made me even more scared, because I thought ‘if he can’t control his dogs, then who can?’
“I had to loosen my hoodie and take my hoodie off, and tear my arm out of the dog’s mouth.
“I actually thought ‘I’m going to die’. If I didn’t get away within the split second that I did, I knew those dogs were going to kill me.”
The horrific attack was filmed by an unknown eyewitness and the footage was later circulated online, racking up tens of thousands of views.
“Knowing that people can watch the thing that ruined my life - everybody can see it,” Ms Reynolds told the BBC.
“The hardest thing was knowing that somebody recorded it. I thought I was going to die, so it was like, ‘were you going to record it until I had?’”
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene and Ms Reynolds was taken to hospital, where she remained for a week.
She needed plastic surgery to her torn lip and sustained nerve damage to her right arm which has lost mobility, meaning she can no longer play violin or rugby.
Her hand is in “excruciating permanent pain” while she said her arm feels like it is “on fire every single day”.
“It’s not guaranteed that I’ll get full function of my arm ever again,” she told the BBC.
“I’ve been impacted mentally, socially, emotionally and physically. I can’t do anything myself, so I have to rely on people to help me.”
The owner of the dogs left the scene before police arrived, but the next day he contacted the Met and handed over the three dogs.
One was found to be a male American pitbull terrier - one of four breeds banned in the UK - and was euthanised by police with the owner’s permission.
“We understand this update will be cause concern to people who have been following this case, and we can assure them that such decisions are not taken lightly,” said a Met Police spokesperson.
“The examination and euthanisation of the animal was conducted by a veterinarian, and the Met’s Status Dog Unit consulted extensively.
“As a banned breed the risk to the public has to be considered and, given a woman had already sustained a serious injury to her arm, this was considered the most appropriate course of action.”
The other two dogs remain in police kennels while further enquiries are carried out. The owner remains under investigation.
Ms Reynolds described herself as someone who “absolutely adored” dogs, but said she feels there should be more checks on dog owners.
“There needs to be more rules about who can own a dog, such as dog licences,” she told the BBC. “There needs to be some sort of a way of controlling who has a dog and whether dogs are trained, or not.”
Government planning to expand banned breeds list
Ms Reynolds spoke out as the Government looks to ban American XL bully dogs in response to a series of attacks.
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 banned four dog breeds: the American pitbull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentinos and the Fila Brasileiro.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to ban the breed by the end of the year, following widespread calls sparked by the death of a 52-year-old man who was attacked by two XL bullies.
The American XL bully was bred in the late 1980s when American Staffordshire terriers were crossed with pitbull terriers - like the one that attacked Ms Reynolds.
They have been involved in a number of devastating attacks over the years. The latest such incident came on Tuesday evening when a 54-year-old was attacked by a dog, thought to be an XL bully, in Sunderland.
Police confirmed on Wednesday he had later died of his injuries, and a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
On Monday, a baby boy was injured outside the Hilton Double Tree hotel in Greenwich, after being savaged by a large dog thought to be an XL bully.
