I was mauled by a monster dog that attacked my grandson, 12 – I thought it would eat him alive on our family holiday
THESE are the horrific injuries suffered by a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother who were savaged by a dog which went berserk at a holiday park during half-term.
Zach Ingerson suffered deep bites on his right arm and leg as the Bull Terrier-type dog lunged at him and repeatedly clamped its jaws around him.
As holidaymakers tried to get the dog back under control Zach’s grandmother Cheryl May, 62, threw herself between the child and the animal to prevent him being further injured.
She was bitten more than a dozen times on her arms and chest.
Speaking from her home in Redruth, Cornwall on Tuesday tearful Cheryl said: “I thought it was going to eat my grandson alive.
“I ran down to Natalie and she was throwing this dog off and had her body over Zac and she’s only 4ft 10 so where she got that strength from I don’t know.
“I hit the dog with a stick and I pushed the dog and I went onto the dog and I managed to get him and I said ‘run Nat, run, run, run’ and she ran up to the clubhouse.
“I just thought if one of us was going to die I would rather it was me so I put myself between them.
“I was on the floor and it was on my arm and wouldn’t let go. I just remember screaming in pain. My daughter kept grabbing the dog around the waist and throwing it off and it just kept coming.”
Zach had been enjoying the half term holiday at St Ives Holiday Park in Cornwall with his mother Natalie, 39, and brother Cameron, 5, last week.
The dog owners eventually got control of the animal but made no effort to apologise and proceeded to follow the horrified family around the clubhouse filming them on their phones until police arrived.
Zach was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to clean and stitch the bites. He was kept in overnight and also needed strong antibiotics to clear an infection caused by the bite.
OWNERS SHOWED ‘NO REMORSE’
Shop assistant Natalie says she was later told the same dog had previously attacked another holidaymaker at the same park the previous day.
She added: “We don’t know how badly affected Zach is by this – he will have physical scars from the bites but hopefully it won’t affect him mentally in the long run. I am calling him my hero and he likes that but really it is my mum who is the hero.
“I am an animal lover but that dog was dangerous and out of control and the police need to make sure this doesn’t happen to another family because next time it could be worse.
“The owners showed no remorse, not so much as an apology. I think the dog needs putting down and they should go to jail.”
Devon and Cornwall Police said they were called to holiday park at 9.10pm on Wednesday, February 15 following reports of two people having been bitten by a dog.
A spokesman added: “Officers attended and found two people who had sustained bite injuries. They attended hospital for treatment, officers remain in contact with all parties involved in this matter and enquiries continue.”
It comes as fatal maulings have hit their highest rate in 40 years.
Last month two people were viciously attacked and killed – including four-year-old Alice Stones who was killed by her family’s dog her back garden in Milton Keynes.
And on January 12, 28-year-old dog walker Natasha Johnston was killed while out with a pack of hounds in Surrey.
In 2022, a whopping ten attacks resulted in fatalities – meaning in the last twelve months 12 people have been killed.