A WOMAN was left needing surgery after suffering horrific injuries when she was mauled by a dog she adopted just three weeks earlier.
Charlotte Potts, 32, bought the one-year-old American Bulldog crossed with a Cane Corso from a breeder she found on Facebook.
Charlotte Potts was savagely attacked by a dog she’d bought off Facebook just weeks before Credit: SWNS
The personal trainer said intially ‘Blue’, an American Bulldog Cane Corso cross, had settled in well with the family Credit: SWNS
At first, the dog – named Blue – had settled in well with the family and did not “show any aggression” towards its new owners.
But on July 4, during a routine Saturday stroll, the dog violently turned on Charlotte while playing a ball game, sinking its jaws into her leg and ripping through her trousers.
The terrified owner from Hexham, Northumberland, said: “I was trying to wrestle him off me and shouting for help.
“I screamed at my brother to get out the gate and before he had got out the gate he ripped through my tracksuit bottoms and punctured my right leg and then punctured my left leg a few times – I was screaming.
During a Saturday morning walk, the dog turned on Charlotte and viciously mauled her legs and arms Credit: SWNS
Charlotte from Hexham ‘screamed’ at her younger brother to leave the park and get help Credit: SWNS
Charlotte was rushed to hospital and the dog was euthanised by police at the scene Credit: SWNS
The horrific attack lasted around eight minutes Credit: SWNS
“I lost a lot of blood.”
She eventually managed to escape the dog’s jaws and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle where she underwent a two-hour to treat her severe wounds.
“I had surgery on Saturday, and I need to go back two times a week to get it looked at,” she said.
“He pierced my bicep and pierced bits of my thigh.
“I’d still be in hospital if it wasn’t for my partner Rachel, and without my kick boxing background I don’t think I’d have been strong enough to fight him off.”
Blue was euthanised by the at the scene after the team struggled to calm him down.
The agonising ordeal lasted around eight minutes – and may have been fatal had it gone on for any longer.
“It felt like a really long time – I didn’t think I was going to get out of there,” said Charlotte, a personal trainer.
“There’s six levels of , and six is fatal – this one was level five.
“I love dogs, but I want to raise awareness around making sure dogs are fully assessed before being rehomed.”
In the weeks before the attack, police visited Charlotte after receiving an anonymous tip off that she owned an XL Bully.
They determined that Blue was an American Bulldog by taking a photo of his head and as a result, did not take him away.
It comes after Big Brother star after being bitten by an XL Bully at a baby shower.
Dog attacks in the UK continue to rise – despite the – with over 9,000 people admitted to hospital each year with serious dog bites.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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