Pet dog mauls owner to death

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The deceased, Stephen Hodgson, 45, was according to reports, killed by the family’s Staffordshire/pit bull terrier cross called, Buster.

Buster had reportedly bitten through Hodgson's jugular, causing him to suffer cardiac arrest which may have been brought on by his massive blood loss.

The police were reported to have had to tamed the animal which had been out-of-control before putting it to sleep.

Mr Hodgson, an unemployed carpenter, had been watching the TV series, Prison Break, with his daughters in the bedroom when the crazed animal had pounced on him.

Daily Mirror reports that the father of three, who had been struggling with an existing medical condition, suddenly fell ill and slumped over the side of the bed, which had startled the three-year-old terrier.

Buster had begun barking causing the girls to take it out into the garden of their semi-detached home as they attended to their father.

One of the Hodgson's daughters, Jade, 19, said:

“I was trying to look after dad and lift him back up onto the bed but as I was trying to do that Buster came back in and ran up the stairs.

"We didn’t want him in the room because he was getting excited and barking but he barged open the door.

“He’s a big, strong, heavy dog and we couldn’t keep him out. He saw my dad leaning over the edge of the bed and he went for him, there was nothing we could do."

Her sister, Carla, 16, said:

“Buster was biting dad’s throat and there was suddenly a lot of blood. We were doing anything we could to get him off. He didn’t have a collar on to hold onto so we were just pulling him.

"I had hold of his back legs and was trying to drag him off but he was just too strong. We knew things were really bad for dad, he might have gone before the emergency services even arrived.

“It was horrific and we won’t be able to forget it, but I’m glad we were there for dad to try to help him. At least we know that we did everything we possibly could to try to save him. We wrapped a sheet around his neck to try to stop the blood but he was bleeding very heavily.”

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The reports also reveal that the Police and ambulance crews had arrived at the scene and cornered Buster before he was put to sleep at the house by a vet.

May his soul rest in peace.