Toddler, 3, has arm ‘ripped open’ after being mauled by cockapoo outside school

A three-year-old girl needed emergency surgery after having her arm ‘ripped open’ by a cockapoo.

The youngster, Bunnie, was rushed to hospital after the attack, which happened close to a primary school in Rainham, Kent, last Tuesday.

Her dad, Rowen Skinley, witnessed the mauling while walking his three children home and described having to hold the skin on her arm together.

Kent Police confirmed officers are investigating the incident.

Rowen said: ‘It happened parallel to the school on the main road. I was just walking home after the school run.

‘The path is quite narrow, and a woman was walking her dog on the actual road itself.

‘Then, out of nowhere, the dog just lunged for my daughter and pulled her to the floor.

‘The owner managed to pull the dog off, but when she did that, it ripped her skin open.

‘I was so shocked. All I had to stop the bleeding was my hands. I had to basically hold her skin together.’

Witnesses rushed over to help Rowen – but the owner quickly left the scene, he claims.

Rowen said: ‘People who saw what happened came over and said that my daughter hadn’t even put her hand out to the dog.

‘The woman just disappeared. She didn’t leave any details or anything.’

He said the dog was a small sandy-coloured cockapoo.

Bunnie was rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital and then transferred to St Thomas’ in Westminster the following morning, June 18.

She had several X-rays to ensure the puncture hadn’t hit her bone, before undergoing plastic surgery.

Bunnie will have to go back to the hospital within a week for a check-up, and to assess whether she will need further work done.

Rowen said: ‘She’s doing well now. She’s just a bit shaken and keeps talking about how scared she is of the dog.

‘She also has a lung condition and really bad asthma, so she had to be marked down as a high-risk category for sedation.

‘It’s really upsetting that the woman didn’t stop because it makes you fear for the safety of other kids.’

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