Doncaster mum: Dog attack trauma has left my daughter feeling 'shaken'
4-year-old Elouise Smith was bitten at her friends' house last December
The mum of a young girl from Doncaster - who was attacked by a dog last year - says the incident has left her daughter feeling 'emotionally distressed' more often than not.
4-year-old Elouise Smith suffered facial injuries after getting mauled by a staffy-cross on a play date at a friend's house in 2023 - before getting rushed to hospital for surgery & stitches on her face.
Elouise's mum - Stacey - tells us the trauma has had a lasting effect:
"I still don't sleep now. I have flashbacks and nightmares about it.
"On the way to school, she does cry a lot, so we are trying to get her some kind of help.
"She is still suffering. GP's and doctors have told me that it's a phase that she'll grow out of, but Elouise hasn't forgotten what happened to her.
"I don't think she'll ever forget.
"I'm hoping as she grows up that the scars will start to fade.
"I won't let Elouise go near any dogs now, I'm so scared it could happen again.
"To this day, it's affected her speech and her teeth.
"It's not something a parent can forget easily.
"I didn't know how deep the wounds were until after Elouise had her surgery.
"They still look quite gruesome at times, even now, but hopefully they will go away as she gets older."
Reported animal attacks across Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham & Barnsley have been on the rise every year since 2021 - according to exclusive figures we've been given by South Yorkshire Police - which you can see below:
DONCASTER
-2021- 72
-2022- 190
-2023- 348
-2024 (so far)- 472
BARNSLEY
-2021- 41
-2022- 123
-2023- 187
-2024 (so far) - 187
ROTHERHAM
-2021- 49
-2022- 113
-2023- 234
-2024 (so far)- 328
SHEFFIELD
-2021- 110
-2022- 257
-2023- 428
-2024 (so far)- 607