Askam woman calls for action after pup is savagely mauled in her daughter's arms

Aimee Goodings, of Saves Lane in Askam, is appealing to people to keep dogs on leads after a horrific attack on her two dogs left her children with scarring memories.

Mrs Goodings has fought a long court battle with fellow Askam resident, Timothy Alan Bolleslaw Szajduk, who pleaded guilty to being in charge of an out-of-control dog and having possession of a fighting dog.

The incident took place on March 29 when her two children were walking their two dogs.

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Mrs Goodings said: "They were at the bottom of the lane and the other dog - a pitbull - was at the top.

Randy, the pitbull terrier that killed Shih Tzu Ted, has been ordered to be destroyed. "Mr Szajduk just let his dog straight off the lead. My children saw him straight away but he claims he didn't see them.

"Something must have told them something wasn't right because my daughter immediately picked up our shih tzu, Ted, and tucked him into her coat."

Mrs Goodings explained how the attacking dog immediately ran and sank his teeth into the family's Springer Spaniel, Buster.

Her 12-year-old son, Bobby, fought off the dog, scooped up Buster and ran back to the house.

Mrs Goodings said: "I was on the phone to the police when I saw my daughter Katy running with Ted in her arms and I could see he was limp.

"I couldn't shut the door quick enough to keep the dog out so it was in the house.

"I had my five children in the house, Buster was bleeding, Ted was quite clearly dead. All I could think was what if it goes for one of the kids?"

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Mrs Goodings eventually managed to get the dog out of the house but it continued circling her home until the police arrived.

She said: "The dog was crazed. It wasn't aggressive it was playing. That's what was so scary about it. It wasn't snarling or growling and its tail was wagging. Its eyes were just gone.

"Katy still had hold of Ted. He died in her arms. She said she felt him go limp.

Mrs Goodings, 33, says the whole family has been traumatised by the day's events and will never be able to trust dogs the same way again.

She said: "Katy has never been the same since. She's a totally different child. She hates dogs now. I don't think she's walked the dogs since and she used to walk them every day."

Even Mrs Goodings's youngest child, four-year-old Noah, has been affected by the incident, asking his mother if "that's a naughty dog" every time he sees one.

Buster, who was attacked by a pitbull terrier, now whimpers when other dogs come near. Mrs Goodings said: "Dogs have never been a concern before. Even Buster's changed. He's scared of everything: cars, traffic, the dark and other dogs. If a dog comes up to him now - even a puppy - he whimpers.

"He needed 12 weeks of treatment which cost £875. The marks were so deep the vet could fit his whole finger inside the wounds."

Mr Szajduk appeared in court on Friday and pleaded guilty to both charges.

He was fined £160 and ordered to pay court costs and victim surcharge of £370 and compensation to the family of £1340, to be paid weekly in £10 installments.

The dog, Randy, was also ordered to be destroyed.

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Figures obtained by the Evening Mail reveal that the number of dangerous dog attacks in the Barrow area have doubled in the past year, rising from eight in 2015 to 16 so far this year.

Determined to stop other families experiencing the same horror, Mrs Goodings is eager to try and spread the message.

She said: "Just keep your dog on a lead. It's not hard. It's just about using common sense, especially in a residential area.

"Everyone around here were just horrified. It's just lucky that it didn't go for any of kids that play on the park."