Mum’s horror as Rottweiller savaged girl

A MOTHER-OF-FOUR has told a jury of the horrific moment her family’s Rottweiller dog jumped out of her garden and savaged an eight-year-old girl.

Catriona Corcoran said the girl was left in shock. Picture: Vic Rodrick

Catriona Corcoran said the six-stone animal tore off the youngster’s cheek as it landed on her.

The little girl was left bleeding heavily with a flap of skin between her mouth and her left ear hanging down and the inside of her mouth exposed.

She needed 40 stitches inserted to close the gaping wound and will be scarred for life, Livingston Sheriff Court heard.

Mrs Corcoran said the child was passing on her scooter when the huge dog pounced on her. Minutes earlier, the former family pet called Kayne had been called back from the fence after going up on its hind legs and barking loudly at three other young girls.

Mrs Corcoran, 35, told the jury she had suggested putting his lead on, but she was distracted by her children who were playing at the summer barbecue in the front garden of her home in Livingston, West Lothian.

She told the court: “I saw the girl go past the gate on her scooter quite slowly.

“Kayne just barked and went over the fence. I just saw the back of him go flying over.

“I don’t know if he landed on her or landed and jumped on her, it was so fast.” She said all the guests at her barbecue party rushed into the street, some of them following the dog over the fence.

She said the girl appeared “quite shocked” and was quiet for a few moments then “started to whimper”.

She said: “Her entire face – from her mouth to just below her ear – was hanging out. There was blood everywhere.”

Asked if she would have done anything different that day, she said she would have ensured that the animal was put on a leash after the first incident.

Mrs Corcoran said she had owned Kayne for just over two years after buying him as a six-week-old pup, She said he wasn’t an aggressive dog, but she passed him on to her father-in-law Alex Corcoran after he growled at her one day.

She revealed that police had had the animal put down the day after the incident.

Alex Corcoran, 63, of Castebrae Grove, Edinburgh, pleads not guilty to being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control. He denies allowing the animal to jump over a fence onto a public path and bite the girl on July 7 last year, causing severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

The trial continues.