Dog savages boys in frenzied attack as they lie sleeping

FamiA MOTHER has told how her two sons are lucky to be alive after being mauled by their new pet dog as they lay sleeping.

• Wayne and Sean Darling after their horrific attack at the hands of pet dog Clyde

Wayne, 13, and Sean Darling, 12, were rushed to hospital after their pet Clyde "savaged" them without warning in the living room of their Bonnyrigg home.

The brothers, both pupils at Lasswade High School, had fallen asleep in the living room after watching television on Sunday night, with Clyde, an Old English Bull Terrier crossed with a bull mastiff, sleeping next to Wayne's feet.

A petrified Wayne awoke at around 1.30am to find Clyde, who had only been with the family for a week, attacking his leg and screamed for help.

Mum Etta Paterson, 50, a carer, was sleeping upstairs when she was wakened by the "most terrifying scream".

The mother-of-six said: "It sounded like the dog was killing them. I didn't know what I was opening the door to.

"Wayne was lying in a pool of blood and the whole sofa was covered in Sean's blood. There was blood on the walls."

Every time Ms Paterson, who managed to grab a hammer and a knife from the kitchen, tried to get near the boys, Clyde moved closer to Wayne's face.

"I'm 50 years old and I have never felt fear like that in my life," she said. "I thought it was going to kill them.

"I couldn't get near them. The dog went absolutely crazy every time I moved closer."

Wayne was left with 40 separate wounds on his right leg, while Sean suffered around 30 to his right arm as well as a fractured hand. They are both expected to be scarred for life.

Clyde was destroyed after finally being subdued by police dog handlers in the family's Andy Kelly Court home.

It is the latest in a string of high-profile dog attacks. Ten-year-old Rhianna Kidd was savaged by two Rottweilers in Dundee, Toni Clannachan suffered facial wounds in an attack by a Japanese Akita in Kilmarnock and last Saturday Gemma Horne, two, was bitten on the face in a dog attack in North Berwick.

Ms Paterson insisted that Clyde had never shown any signs of violence in the week since he came into the family home. They had been given the dog by a family friend.

"Getting him was the worst decision I have ever made in my life," she said.

"Clyde had been out playing with my grandkids in the back garden that very day. My grandson Kerr, who will be two in October, was meant to be staying over that night but I wasn't feeling that great so I took him home.

"Thank God he didn't stay because I know it could have been so much worse."

Third-year pupil Wayne said: "I lifted the covers and my leg had been ripped to shreds."

Sean had been sleeping on the couch opposite Wayne when he heard his screams and immediately tried to help his brother by kicking the dog in the face, but two-and-a-half-year-old Clyde turned on him.

Ms Paterson and the boys barricaded themselves in the kitchen, pushing a table against the door to prevent 3ft tall Clyde from opening it.

Eventually, with the help of police and dog handlers, Clyde was trapped in the hallway around an hour after the attack started. He was given several electric shocks before passing out and received a lethal injection from a vet.

Wayne and Sean were taken to the city's Royal Infirmary, where they received several stitches. Wayne was given crutches to help him walk due to a bite on the sole of his foot.

Police are investigating the incident.