Grandmother, 46, feared she would need her leg amputated after savage ‘bulldog’ attack which ripped her flesh down to the bone

• Police arrested two people in connection to the dog attack on Kirstie Sandford 

A grandmother feared she would need her leg amputated after her ankle was savaged by a ‘bulldog-type’ dog that ripped her flesh right down to the bone.

Kirstie Sandford, 46, was visiting a friend in Acomb, York, when she says the dog attacked her out of the blue on December 6. She claims the animal grabbed her left ankle in its teeth and wouldn’t let go.

The grandmother-of-three said she kicked the dog repeatedly with her other leg while her friend tried desperately to get it off her.

When the dog finally let go, Ms Sandford crawled into another room and was then rushed by ambulance to York Hospital. Surgeons spent three hours operating on her severe injuries.

North Yorkshire Police said two people had been arrested on suspicion of owning or being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control in connection with the incident.

Kirstie Sandford, 46, (pictured in hospital after the attack) was visiting a friend in Acomb, York, when she says the dog attacked her out of the blue on December 6. She says the animal grabbed her left ankle in its teeth and wouldn’t let go

Ms Sandford, a former cleaner from Acomb, branded the attack as ‘horrific’. She believes that had the ‘evil’ animal been any more aggressive she would have ‘lost a foot’ or ‘be dead’.

She recalled screaming ‘it’s going to take my leg off’ as the dog sunk its teeth into her skin. 

‘It went straight for my ankle. It shot straight for me,’ Ms Sandford said. ‘It was horrific – it wouldn’t get off me. Its teeth and its evil face, that’s all I can see now.

‘It could have taken my ankle right through. It could have bitten through my ankle. I would probably have lost a foot.’

She added: ‘I would be dead if it got my throat.’

Ms Sandford said she ‘booted’ the dog repeatedly before she ‘finally got it off’. She was then taken to hospital for injuries that require surgery.

Her surgeons were hopeful that she wouldn’t need a skin graft, Ms Sandford claimed. Because she could still move her toes, her doctors suspect her tendons and ligaments were intact despite the depth of the bite wounds.

‘If I had had my granddaughter with me it could have killed her. It could have killed me. The pain was horrific,’ she added.

Ms Sandford was rushed by ambulance to York Hospital, surgeons spent three hours operating on her severe injuries (pictured). She feared she would need her leg amputated after her ankle was savaged by the ‘bulldog-type’ dog

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that officers attended the scene of the attack.

A police spokesperson said: ‘Police in York have arrested a man and woman on suspicion of owning or being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.

‘It follows an incident at a house in York on December 6 when the ambulance service was called to a woman with a leg injury caused by a dog.

‘The woman was taken to hospital for treatment to her leg which includes the need for surgery.’

The spokesperson added: ‘The dog, which is believed to be a bulldog-type breed, has been seized from its owner and is currently being cared for.’

The 36-year-old man and a woman, 51, arrested in connection with the incident have since been released on conditional police bail.

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