Mum of little Corby girl whose face was bitten by dog in West Glebe Park in warning to pet owners and parents

The youngster had to have surgery to fix the bites on her cheek after the incident in West Glebe Park on Saturday (April 5).

It’s believed the dog was a Jack Russell crossed with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It lunged at little Florence as she bent down to pet it.

It has now been put down by its owner.

Now her mum Kimberley Briglin is warning other parents and dog owners of the terrible damage that even a small animal can do to children.

Kimberley said: “We’re really lucky that her aunt was able to pull her from underneath the dog and that a friend of her dad’s was in the park to rush them to the 8-8.

"I don’t know what would have happened had the dog been bigger.”

Florence was out with her dad building rope swings in the park when they began speaking to another dad who was out with his children and their dog. The groups were chatting for several minutes and the children were playing around when Florence bent down to pet the dog.

It lunged at her and bit her face and she was knocked over. Her aunt was thankfully able to pull her away. They were driven to Corby 8-8 by a family friend and Florence was given first aid before going to Kettering General Hospital for surgery the next morning to stitch her wounds.

Thankfully doctors were able to do a good job of repairing her face during the 45 minute operation and her face is beginning to heal already.

Florence is bravely trying to get on with things while healing from her operation, but is still suffering some pain and tiredness.

Her mum said she hopes to be better healed by the time she goes back to school.

“It’s little things like we went to Barnwell Country Park yesterday and she couldn’t play in the sand,” said Kimberley.

"She loves all animals. She’s the only one of us who’s ever managed to stroke a squirrel!

"We went out a couple of days ago and there was dog and Florence asked to stroke it. I was more nervous than she was.”

Now Kimberley says she feels angry that she wasn’t told that the dog, which wasn’t on a lead, may have been aggressive before.

"They were stood chatting for ten or 15 minutes. He had ample opportunity to tell them not to touch the dog,” she said.

"I’m angry that Florence wasn’t warned and that the dog was allowed to be around children.

"And now we believe that the dog may have bitten before, I just wanted to warn other parents about what can happen and how quickly it can happen.

“I hope dog owners learn from this and act responsibly and keep their animals on a lead. There are so many dogs around and you can’t possibly know which ones are going to be friendly and which ones aren’t.

"I know that it could have been a lot worse but it’s her face and you can’t help worrying about it. The wounds were quite deep and it happened so fast.

"It was so difficult watching Florence being put to sleep and having to go into surgery.”

Following the incident, Kimberley posted about her experience on Facebook and was inundated with offers of help from Corby’s warm-hearted community.

She said: “We had people coming to the door with things for her.

"People have offered cakes and sweet treats for her.

“People in Corby always rally around. It’s great that we have such a wonderful community here.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman said: “We received a report on April 5 of a child being bitten by a dog while in woodland at West Glebe park in Corby.

"An investigation is under way into the incident, and the dog’s owner has since had the animal put to sleep.”

- A second, not linked, dog bite in Corby is also being investigated by the police. A man was bittedn on the wrist by a dog outside Sainsbury’s in Holland Square, Priors Hall, at about 12.35pm on Tuesday, April 8.