A MUM was horrified after a vicious XL Bully latched onto her 4-year-old daughter before the owner allegedly spat on the youngster.
Malikah Malik was walking through Blackburn train station in Lancashire with her daughter on Saturday and reached Railway Road when a man is said to have started walking quickly behind them.
The mum and daughter were walking through Blackburn train station at the time of the dog attack
She noticed her daughter had started to slow down and when Malikah turned around, she saw the man’s XL Bully had grabbed hold of her daughter’s t-shirt and was tugging on it.
The dog was reportedly not muzzed, which is a legal requirement for XL Bullies in public places.
Malikah told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I waited for the guy to get hold of the dog and asked him why the dog was that close to the child, just walk around me.
“If that dog got on her skin, there was no way anyone could get the dog off her. Luckily, it grabbed hold of her t-shirt.
“I have one job: to care for my child and make sure she is safe. He is going to be able to use his dog as a weapon.”
Following the incident Malikah along with taxi drivers who were in the area confronted the dog owner who is said to have started swearing at them.
As the situation became increasingly heated, he allegedly said: “I am a British citizen, I can do what I like.”
He also claimed he and his dog had “more rights” then Malikah and her daughter, who are both British citizens.
The dog owner is then alleged to begin charging at the pair and spat on her daughter.
Malikah said: “He came charging towards me, and he spat on my daughter, and she started crying and having a breakdown.
“We were not looking to engage any further with him, as he was looking for an excuse to do something.
“We were all in shock, and it was really scary, and if he had the courage to spit on us in front of all these people and it could have been a lot worse.”
A taxi driver then warned the mum and daughter that the man was returning towards them and he took them in his cab to the police station for free.
Malikah added: “We are just waiting for the police to locate them.
“We are scared and we won’t go to town and use public transport, and now we won’t go that way.
“In my entire life I have lived in Feniscolwes and we have never had a problem, and everyone looks out for each other, and there is nothing like this.
“She [Malikah’s daughter] doesn’t want to go anywhere outside the front door at the moment, and I am hoping she forgets about it.”
A Lancashire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We were called at 11.15am on 26 July to Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, to a report of assault.
“Enquiries are ongoing, anyone who witnessed what happened or has information, please call 101 – log 0547 of the 26 July.
“No arrests have been made.”
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