Eight month old injured by XL Bully in Hawkinge

The baby is fighting for her life in hospital while the dog has been destroyed by police. Bartholomew Hall reports.

Transcript

00:00Eight-month-old baby Arabella was rushed to hospital from her family home here in Hawking

00:07after she was bitten by this, an 18-month-old XL bully type family dog called Hunter.

00:14She remains in critical condition at a London hospital where she was airlifted to on Wednesday

00:19afternoon. Arabella's family say their dog is normally very friendly, but it's since

00:24emerged that police have previously been called to the property in Siskin Close to report

00:29a dog had bitten its owner. This time, however, the dog was destroyed by officers at the house.

00:36The dog and the baby got on, they were like two peas in a pod. The baby would grab the

00:39dog, the dog would go over and check the baby, sniff the baby, go off and do its own thing.

00:44This was so out of character for Hunter, it had come out of nowhere. I just feel so sorry

00:48for the family. It is shocking. We sat there yesterday and we weren't expecting it. You

00:51know, you see and you hear about it all the time, but you don't actually, you don't think

00:55it's going to happen to your own family. So if anything happens to that little girl, I

00:57don't know what's going to happen to this family, because it's all happened so fast

01:01and it's just not fair or nice for anyone, is it? Kent Police have confirmed two people

01:06have been arrested following the incident. One, a 78-year-old woman and the other, an

01:1118-year-old man. It's understood they are Arabella's great-grandmother and uncle. It's

01:17clear that what's happened here in Hawkins is yet another in the long list of incidents

01:21where an Excel bully type has attacked somebody, adding more fuel to the debate around the

01:26breed's future in the UK. Children, particularly young children, should never be left alone

01:32with dogs. It doesn't matter what the type of dog is. You know, she hasn't got any choice

01:38over where she is at any one point in time. And what we don't know is what happened leading

01:44up to that incident. And the problem with all the bull breeds is that if they do bite,

01:50they bite harder. They've got very strong jaws. Since February, it's been a criminal

01:56offence to own an Excel bully type without an exemption certificate. Those who are exempt

02:01must be kept safely at home and muzzled whilst out in public. But with their baby still in

02:07a serious condition this evening, Arabella's family say their focus is now on being there

02:13for one another. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Hawkins.

02:18Bartholomew joins me in the studio now. What

02:21more can you tell us about the dog in this case?

02:23Well, we know that Hunter had previously been seized by officers back in November 2023.

02:28They were called to reports of another dog bite and when Kent Police asked them to voluntarily

02:35surrender the dog for destruction, they declined to do so. Well, Kent Police told us today

02:40at the time there was no legal grounds for officers to retain the dog in the circumstances

02:44and they went on to say that the owner was asked to agree a number of conditions including

02:49keeping the dog secure and supervised.

02:52And are there any updates tonight on Arabella's condition?

02:55Well, this evening as we broadcast live at 5.30, there is no update from police on her

03:00condition. The latest is that she remains in hospital in critical condition.

03:04Bartholomew, thank you very much for this detail.