Girl, 9 screams ‘Mum, I’m going to die’ after horror ‘XL Bully’ assault in Birmingham
The youngster was walking back from a shop to her home in an Erdington residential street when she was set upon by an ‘XL Bully-type dog’ in an unprovoked frenzied attack
The mother of a young girl savagely attacked by a dog in Birmingham has shared the haunting words her daughter uttered that will forever be etched in her memory. Alicia Isaura was returning home from a local shop with her nine-year-old daughter, Eva, on a residential street in Erdington when an ‘XL Bully-type dog‘ launched an unprovoked and frenzied assault on the child.
The terrifying incident unfolded at the junction of Springthorpe Green and Spiral Green in Pype Hayes on Sunday (November 16). The pair had just visited Michael’s convenience store on Springthorpe Road and were on their way home when they encountered two unleashed dogs.
One of the dogs crossed the road and lunged at Eva as she began to run away in fear, reports Birmingham Live. The canine sunk its teeth into Eva’s left leg and clamped down, refusing to let go.
Two men leapt out of a nearby car in a desperate bid to pry the dog off the terrified girl. The dogs, which were not on leads and whose owner was conspicuously absent, were described as ‘XL Bully-types’, one ‘light brown or tan and the other dark brown’, the latter being the one that attacked Eva.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Alicia recounted: “I was with her and we were walking together back from the shop. We are big dog people and I saw the two dogs there and said to Eva ‘don’t cross the road’.
“But one dog came across and Eva started to run. It went for her leg. She was crying and screaming. Then she started to shiver when she was going into shock.
“Once these dogs have locked their jaws you can’t get them off. I said ‘you have to get their back legs’ but I don’t think the people heard me with what was going on.
“It then let go of her leg and went for her arm. It came for Eva and showed no interest in me or the people trying to get it off her. It was horrendous.
“She has also got a little scratch on her head when someone tried to kick the dog off and kicked her at the same time.”
During the terrifying ordeal, Alicia accidentally rang her eldest daughter Nyema, 14, who could hear her little sister’s piercing screams through the phone. The teenager rushed outside, witnessed the shocking scene, and immediately dialled 999.
Two heroic bystanders managed to rescue Eva by ‘battering the dog with everything they could find’.
A kind-hearted woman emerged from her home clutching towels to help. The second, smaller dog reportedly just watched the attack unfold.
Since the nightmare incident, both the youngster and her mum have been tormented by flashbacks. Eva’s desperate words continue to haunt her mother Alicia.
She revealed: “The words that will stay with me were ‘mum, I’m going to die’. She was petrified. She was screaming.
“She has been getting flashbacks. When it happened, she was crying. She just wants her big sister now.”
Emergency crews raced to the scene alongside police officers, and Eva was blue-lighted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed: “We were called to reports of a patient who had been bitten by a dog on Springthorpe Green at 6.42pm on Sunday (November 16).
“One ambulance attended the scene. On arrival we discovered one patient, a girl, who was treated for potentially serious injuries before being taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”
Alicia revealed that Eva underwent surgery on Monday (November 17) to treat the wound but will require further operations. She also mentioned that Eva will need physiotherapy as she has lost sensation in parts of her leg.
“She is currently in recovery as she had to have an operation and she will have to have more surgery tomorrow or Wednesday too,” she shared. Her leg was bleeding all night.”
Eva’s father, Taurai Mangenje, expressed his concern for other children in the area, given that the dogs responsible for the attack are still at large.
He relayed that a nurse at Birmingham Children’s Hospital informed him of three other similar dog attacks that occurred that night, although the locations of these incidents remain unclear.
Taurai, who is a nurse himself, described: “Eva’s injures were horrific. These dogs are not meant to be on the street. It ripped her left leg up to her thigh. She was in pain. I’m very worried.
“These dogs are running around. The nurse told me this was the fourth incident they’d seen on Sunday. I don’t know if the police have the dogs. This is urgent.
“I am concerned these dogs are out and about and nobody knows where they are. One wouldn’t let go of Eva. I’m really, really petrified that other families will go through what we went through last night.”
A spokesperson from West Midlands Police said: “We are investigating after a child was bitten by a dog in Erdington this weekend. We were called shortly before 7pm on Sunday after the incident, which saw a girl taken to hospital for further treatment.
“Enquiries are ongoing to find the dog and its owner, and anyone who knows more about what happened or saw the incident can call 101 quoting log 3474 of 16 November.”
