Teenager recalls terror and pain of horrifying attack

A TEENAGER today told of the "agonising" pain he felt when an American bulldog almost ripped off his arm during a horrific 10-minute attack.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Nicky Henderson, 13, from Gracemount, recalled the savage bites by his friend's dog, Kilo, which caused "chunks of flesh to fly in the air" and saw "blood spouting out of the wound like a fountain".

The youngster, who was attacked on Thursday, revealed that doctors confirmed he would have lost his arm if three quick-thinking neighbours had not prized open the beast's jaws with broomsticks and kept his arm upright until paramedics arrived.

The Gracemount High School pupil said he was still suffering nightmares from the dog attack which happened in his friend's garden at Gilmerton Dykes Drive, but that he was recovering well.

He said: "I still get images of the dog running towards me when I close my eyes. It just went for me. I was terrified it was going to take my arm off. It was agonising.

"He was just flinging me round and wouldn't let me go. I tried to jump over the fence but I couldn't get loose, even when people were hitting it with spades, stones and shovels.

"I'm lucky my heart didn't stop, I was so scared. The doctor said I lost a lot of blood."

Nicky, who was meeting his friend for a day out when the eight-year-old dog "randomly" pounced, received emergency surgery and is due to have a skin graft on Saturday.

His arm was so severely damaged that doctors have predicted it will not be able to function properly for at least two years.

The bulldog severed an artery in Nicky's arm, left several gaping puncture holes and exposed his underarm bone.

Surgeons removed a vein from his leg to repair the artery, but the wound has been left open to prevent infection and to allow further operations. It is thought that he will remain in the ERI for at least two weeks.

Nicky added: "I was so terrified, I thought it was going to eat me. My friend who owned the dog feels so bad and he has been round to see me every day. I had played with the dog before and it had seemed tame. It did growl sometimes.

"I'm so thankful to the ladies that helped me. A lot of people were standing by watching, probably because they were so terrified. I'll visit them as soon as I get out of hospital."

The animal, owned by Julie and Alan Korfanty, was immediately destroyed. It had no previous record of violence and the couple have requested a post-mortem to find out if something triggered the attack.

Nicky's mother, Suzanne Henderson, 43, said she was fearful that her son's arm would be permanently injured.

She said: "The more I hear, the more panicked I get. Witnesses have told me that chunks of his flesh were flying in the air and blood was spouting out like a fountain, but Nicky has got a very high pain threshold. He's a fighter.

"I saw him trying to wiggle his fingers the other day and he told me he wanted to get back to his Xbox. He's looking forward to showing off his scars and his friends are joking that he'll be like Barbie because of the plastic surgery. He's being light-hearted and positive about the whole thing."

Police are continuing to investigate the incident..