Dog rips into woman's face as she becomes 'human blanket' to shield niece, 4
Abbie Nudd and her niece Lydia were attacked by the American Bulldog at her neighbour's home in Harwich, Essex, which put them both in hospital after the dog's mood suddenly turned
A hero aunt was left with gruesome injuries after she acted as a "human blanket" to save her young niece from a vicious dog.
Abbie Nudd had taken four-year-old Lydia on what was meant to be a fun trip to meet a dog on one Tuesday morning when both she and her niece were pounced upon by the pooch. Abbie, 32, who looks after Lydia every Tuesday, said she had asked to come and see the American Bulldog her neighbours were caring for on June 3. But the visit became a bloodbath as both she and her niece were attacked by the dog when its mood switched in an instant.
Speaking to the Gazette Standard, the aunt, of Willow Way, Dovercourt, in Harwich, Essex, said that, while the two were sat in the garden stroking the dog, its mood suddenly changed.
Sensing the dog was becoming nervous, Abbie told her niece to step away, but she was grabbed on the arm before she got a chance to move from its reach.
She said the dog 'had a hold of her right arm' in an instant, and the hero aunt sprang to action and forcefully removed the youngster's arm from its grip.
She added that she made herself into "a human blanket" and leapt on Lydia to protect the four-year-old from the dog, which appeared to have become fixated on her.
She said: "Somehow, I managed to prise the dog's mouth open and get her arm out of the dog's mouth. I then leap on Lydia, so she is under me, I was basically like a human blanket over her. At first the dog wasn't even biting me; it was just trying to move me out the way to get to her.
'Luckily, my neighbour came out and was telling it no and hitting it with a washing line pole. At one point, I just decided to give up, I didn't want it to then flip on Lydia again, I gave it my arm.'
While a friend was eventually able to get her to safety, the animal continued to attack, leaving Abbie with a bite to her face, both arms and torso.
The dog had clamped its jaw on her arm so hard that it broke her wrist, and she says she had to do "an elbow drop a few times" to get it off her.
The dog was eventually calmed down and Abbie and her niece were taken to Colchester Hospital, where their wounds were treated. Lydia was discharged back into her parents' care on Wednesday, June 4, while Abbie's wounds and fracture were monitored until she was discharged on Sunday.
A spokesman for Essex Police said a woman was arrested following the incident after emergency services attended the scene in Harwich at around 4.30pm on June 3. They said: "A woman, aged in her 30s, from Harwich, was arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control.
'She has since been released under investigation while enquiries continue. The dog was seized and has been taken to secure kennels. Our investigation will now progress appropriately, and we would ask people not to speculate around the nature of the incident.'
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