The baby is fighting for her life in hospital while the dog has been destroyed by police. Bartholomew Hall reports.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Eight-month-old baby Arabella was rushed to hospital from her family home here in Hawking
00:07after she was bitten by this, an 18-month-old XL bully type family dog called Hunter.
00:14She remains in critical condition at a London hospital where she was airlifted to on Wednesday
00:19afternoon. Arabella's family say their dog is normally very friendly, but it's since
00:24emerged that police have previously been called to the property in Siskin Close to report
00:29a dog had bitten its owner. This time, however, the dog was destroyed by officers at the house.
00:36The dog and the baby got on, they were like two peas in a pod. The baby would grab the
00:39dog, the dog would go over and check the baby, sniff the baby, go off and do its own thing.
00:44This was so out of character for Hunter, it had come out of nowhere. I just feel so sorry
00:48for the family. It is shocking. We sat there yesterday and we weren't expecting it. You
00:51know, you see and you hear about it all the time, but you don't actually, you don't think
00:55it's going to happen to your own family. So if anything happens to that little girl, I
00:57don't know what's going to happen to this family, because it's all happened so fast
01:01and it's just not fair or nice for anyone, is it? Kent Police have confirmed two people
01:06have been arrested following the incident. One, a 78-year-old woman and the other, an
01:1118-year-old man. It's understood they are Arabella's great-grandmother and uncle. It's
01:17clear that what's happened here in Hawkins is yet another in the long list of incidents
01:21where an Excel bully type has attacked somebody, adding more fuel to the debate around the
01:26breed's future in the UK. Children, particularly young children, should never be left alone
01:32with dogs. It doesn't matter what the type of dog is. You know, she hasn't got any choice
01:38over where she is at any one point in time. And what we don't know is what happened leading
01:44up to that incident. And the problem with all the bull breeds is that if they do bite,
01:50they bite harder. They've got very strong jaws. Since February, it's been a criminal
01:56offence to own an Excel bully type without an exemption certificate. Those who are exempt
02:01must be kept safely at home and muzzled whilst out in public. But with their baby still in
02:07a serious condition this evening, Arabella's family say their focus is now on being there
02:13for one another. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Hawkins.
02:18Bartholomew joins me in the studio now. What
02:21more can you tell us about the dog in this case?
02:23Well, we know that Hunter had previously been seized by officers back in November 2023.
02:28They were called to reports of another dog bite and when Kent Police asked them to voluntarily
02:35surrender the dog for destruction, they declined to do so. Well, Kent Police told us today
02:40at the time there was no legal grounds for officers to retain the dog in the circumstances
02:44and they went on to say that the owner was asked to agree a number of conditions including
02:49keeping the dog secure and supervised.
02:52And are there any updates tonight on Arabella's condition?
02:55Well, this evening as we broadcast live at 5.30, there is no update from police on her
03:00condition. The latest is that she remains in hospital in critical condition.
03:04Bartholomew, thank you very much for this detail.