Woman mauled by Staffy and attacked by its owner leaving her 'petrified'
Tracie Harrison, 47, was in charge of her dog named Fade when she and another woman launched a brutal attack on Michelle Pring, during which Ms Pring begged "somebody please help me".
A woman suffered significant injuries after she was mauled by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and attacked by its owner, leaving her "petrified" of dogs.
Tracie Harrison, 47, was in charge of her dog named Fade when she and another woman attacked Michelle Pring in Cardiff on May 3, 2023. During the attack, Fade began attacking the Ms Pring, and locked its jaws on her arms and legs, leaving her with multiple puncture wounds, reports the Mirror.
On Thursday, May 1, a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard Ms Pring was walking along Heol Trelai, in Caerau, with a man when she came across the defendant and another woman. Harrison was in possession of Fade who was on a lead.
An argument soon turned violent and Harrison launched a savage physical attack on Ms Pring, starting by pulling her hair. Ms Pring tried to escape into a nearby garden but she was followed by Harrison and the other woman, who continued to hit and kick her.
As the attack progressed, Fade also started to attack her by bitting her legs. She described the pain and said it felt like the dog was "eating her". She screamed at the defendant "Please Trace, he's chewing my legs, get him off me, somebody please help me." but Harrison made "minimal efforts" to stop Fade from attacking Ms Pring.
As the victim attempted to protect herself, the dog bit her left arm and began mauling her. Ms Pring said she believes she passed out and cannot remember when the dog stopped or where it went. A neighbour caught the terrifying attack on camera, and the footage was played to the court.
The victim was rushed to hospital to receive treatment for her injuries sustained in the attack. She had a cut to her forehead and right eye, wounds and puncture marks to her left arm and legs, and a deep wound to the inside and outside of her right muscle, extending into the muscle. As a result of her injuries, she suffered permanent scars to her left arm and legs.
Harrison, of Heol Trelai, later pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury. The court heard she has 13 previous convictions, including for an offence of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury in 2015, reports WalesOnline
In a victim personal statement read to the court by Alex Orndal, Ms Pring said: "This attack has totally turned my life upside down, it's been more than a year since the attack but I still feel its impact every day... I still have scars and every day I see them it reminds me of the sheer pain and agony I was in. It brings back the trauma of that night.
"I have been unable to wear a skirt or go swimming. Comments and questions are a painful reminder of what happened and I think of that night all the time. I don't want to go out in the dark, especially on my own and I have to have someone with me. If someone runs up behind me I am so scared and anxious and looking over my shoulder to see if anybody is behind me.
"Every time I see a dog I am petrified and worry they will savage me again. If I had to go through something like this again, it would be game over and I will die. I think that every time I see a dog.
"This has impacted me in a large way. What right did those people have to attack me and that dog to savage me. I will live with the physical scars for the rest of my life. I want the people responsible to know how much they have impacted my life."
In mitigation, Kirsten Murphy said her client was "remorseful" for inability to control the dog, and added: "She is shocked the dog she loved so much became aggressive and behaved in the way she did."
The court heard that prior to the savage attack Harrison had owned Fade for nine years and in that time had no cause for concern. The barrister said Harrison had raised her children as a single parent and suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her partner. She has mental health difficulties following the death of her sister and has anxiety and depression.
The court heard Harrison was "terrified" of being sent to prison as she was due to become a grandmother for the first time and didn't want to miss the birth. Ms Murphy added: "She is heartbroken over the destruction of the dog, one she loved for many years, but the destruction order is not opposed as she doesn't want to put any members of the public at risk."
Harrison was sentenced to two years in prison by Judge Carl Harrison who disqualified the defendant from having custody of a dog for 15 years and approved a destruction order in respect of Fade.
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Mrs James said: 'I don't feel on the 2nd that they fully assessed her.' Mrs James became emotional when she described how on Monday, February 3, her daughter had collapsed because she was 'so exhausted' from being at hospital. Following this Mrs James said an ambulance was called and although paramedics arrived her daughter said she did not want to go to hospital, having felt dismissed by various medics and exhausted by the hours of waiting around she had already endured. It was heard how paramedics noted that Bethan's heart rate was high, but that she couldn't be forced to go to hospital. Two days later, on Wednesday, February 5, Bethan's symptoms persisted in her right arm, and she had also developed numbness and issues with her right leg. Myself and my husband knew we needed to do something to try and find out what was going on,' Mrs James told the inquest. She said they took her back to A&E at the University Hospital of Wales. 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He addressed that neurological symptoms of the nature experienced by Bethan were rare in cases of sepsis. On Saturday, February 8, Mrs James said her daughter had been in bed all afternoon. By the afternoon she said she was watching rugby with her daughter and trying to encourage her to eat. By 4pm Mrs James said her daughter 'looked dreadful' with bags under her eyes and nails so pale she thought she was wearing white nail polish. On a number of occasions Mrs James recalled asking if she could call for an ambulance, but in response her daughter reiterated that Dr Willis said she would soon be fine. However, she called 999 that evening. The first person to arrive was a rapid response paramedic named Paul Humphries. Mrs James said Mr Humphries could not record Bethan's blood pressure properly. In hindsight Mrs James said she now knows this is a sign of sepsis. She said the 'signs' of sepsis were 'right in front' of Mr Humphries. The inquest heard how initially Mr Humphries called for a P3 ambulance response, which refers to a low priority. He later escalated this to a P2. Mrs James said: 'I don't know why someone doesn't get a P1 when they are so unwell.' Speaking during the inquest Mr Humphries said in hindsight he believes he dealt with Bethan appropriately. He added: 'I didn't come away from that incident thinking I did a bad job.' When the ambulance turned up Mrs James said she didn't sense any 'rush' to get her daughter to hospital. She finally arrived at 7.45pm following a 12 minute journey, it was heard. Mrs James described that on arrival at the University Hospital of Wales they had to wait in the ambulance outside the hospital for some time. She said they 'now know' there was a bed available, claiming her daughter wasn't 'deemed unwell enough' to have it. At 8.10pm Ms James was triaged before she went down to resus at 9.15pm. 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She recalled being told medics were working on Bethan and if she wanted to be with her as she passed away. 'As soon as I walked in, I knew she was dead,' Mrs James said. She commented that a sepsis protocol should have been put in place early on. She said her daughter 'should have had the right care straight away'. She added: 'It's heartbreaking as a mum to know that her life could have been saved. They didn't know what they were doing.' The inquest continues.
