Our town lives in terror over spate of dog attacks – it’s months after boy, 10, was killed… something needs to change
A COMMUNITY says it has been left living “in terror” after a spate of vicious dog attacks.
The multiple maulings have claimed the lives of two people and left at least four others with injuries.
All the attacks have taken place in the Caerphilly area of south Wales during the past 18 months.
Three serious incidents have happened in the past fortnight.
The escalating regularity and savagery of the assaults has left the Graig-y-Rhacca housing estate where the most recent attack happened in fear, with parents locking down their children indoors and only venturing out for essentials.
Chelsey Colwill, 28, whose five-year-old son Rory and his best friend Conor Crowley, seven, were attacked by a pocket bully dog – a cross between an American bully and a Patterdale terrier – on Monday, has called for changes in dog ownership laws.
She had to punch, stamp and kick the “out-of-control” animal as its jaws locked around Conor’s hip when it pounced on the boys in the street without warning.
She said: “Rory is so traumatised by what happened that he is scared to leave his bedroom. Conor is the same.
“These are two boys who would spend the whole day playing outdoors before they were attacked.
“They will both need a lot of counselling and patience before they can pick up their lives again.
“This dog should never have been allowed outdoors without a muzzle. His owner was not fit to have a dog like this because he clearly could not control it.
“He just stood and watched while this animal tried to kill the boys.
“We need new and better laws to protect the public, such as making owners of potentially dangerous dogs hold a special licence and more safety checks.
“Maybe the types of breeds we allow also needs looking at again.”
Ms Colwill claims the owner of the dog has not even apologised to her or Conor’s mother, Kylie Jones, for what happened.
She said: “He has shown no remorse whatsoever.
“He was clearly no longer able to control the dog.”
Rory is so traumatised by what happened that he is scared to leave his bedroom. Conor is the same.
Chelsey Colwill
It is believed the same animal – a two-year-old rescue dog – also attacked a seven-year-old on a bus just two weeks earlier.
And on April 29, another dog attacked a five-month-old baby at an address in nearby Penyrheol.
Ms Colwill alleges that police who put down the dog who attacked her son told her the baby suffered such severe facial injuries that he or she may never smile again.
In other attacks during the current spate in Caerphilly, Jack Lis, 10, died after being mauled by an American or XL Bully dog – a legal breed – in November 2021.
And Shirley Patrick, 83, died in hospital after suffering a “violent and unnatural” death after being set on by a dog in Caerphilly in December last year.
Local force Gwent Police revealed last month that 18 dogs had been seized by officers in the town, which is feared to be a hotspot for illegal breeding.
Another mum living on the tight-knit Graig-y-Rhacca housing estate, Samantha Preece, 38, also called for tightening of current dog laws.
“There’s no way these people should be allowed to keep dogs like this if they can’t control them,” she said.
Ms Preece, who had children aged 13, 11 and six, said the estate is “living in terror”.
‘WE’RE ALL TERRIFIED’
She added: “We’re all terrified of these animals at the moment.
“Parents are keeping their kids indoors where they know they’ll be safe and everyone’s as nervous as hell when they’re walking around in case one of these dogs comes from nowhere and attacks again.
“I’ve seen one owner lose control of his dog before.
“He was out walking it and it was pulling like hell on the lead and next thing, the dog’s broken free. It could have gone for anyone.
“It was a scary dog and too strong for the owner, so the law should have prevented him from owning it.
“How many more people will have to be attacked or even killed, like poor Jack Lis, before the laws are tightened up?
“There’s another tragedy waiting to happen around here.”
Certainly, when Sun Online journalists spent this weekend trawling the estate for people to speak to about the recent attacks, few children were outside on the streets.
Parents said that even in rain, their children would normally be playing outdoors over a bank holiday weekend.
One dad, 35-year-old HGV driver Paul Cometson, who has two young children, said there was “no way” he would allow them to play outside unsupervised at the moment.
It would be reckless to allow young children to play outside on their own when there are dangerous dogs around.
Paul Cometson
Mr Cometson, who has a two-year-old Labrador collie cross called Oreo on account of its biscuit markings, said: “It would be reckless to allow young children to play outside on their own at any time, but especially so when there are dangerous dogs around.
“To be fair, any dog can suddenly turn. You could have the most docile dog that suddenly becomes hot and bothered and in the wrong circumstances that dog could turn nasty and attack someone.
“That’s why you must always keep an eye on them and don’t leave children on their own with any dog.
“You just have to be cautious and sensible.”
At the local post office and general stores, postmaster Simon Jones said that when he first moved to the estate more than 20 years ago, it was not uncommon to see packs of up to six dogs running wild in the streets.
He said: “At least we no longer have that situation. Whenever I see a dog nowadays, it’s with its owner and usually on a lead.
“I honestly think the vast majority of dog owners around here are very responsible and take time to train their dogs properly.
“But it only takes one owner to fail to properly look after or control their dog and there’s an incident like we’ve had recently.
“We just have to keep educating our children not to approach dogs without the owner’s permission and hope the owners are sensible and look after their dogs properly.”