Charlotte Potts, a 32-year-old personal trainer from Hexham, Northumberland, required surgery after being mauled by a dog she had adopted through Facebook three weeks earlier. The dog, a one-year-old Cane Corso cross American Bulldog named Blue, was obtained from a breeder on the social media platform.
Attack During Routine Walk
Blue had initially settled in well and showed no aggression towards Potts or her family. However, during a routine walk on a Saturday morning, the dog turned on her. After Potts threw Blue's ball, instead of retrieving it, the dog went straight for her legs, tearing through her trousers and sinking his jaws into her.
Potts described the attack: "I was trying to wrestle him off me and shouting for help. I was in there for seven or eight minutes with him attacking me. If I was there any longer, I wouldn't have made it. My little brother watched it all happen. It felt like a really long time - I didn't think I was going to get out of there."
She called for her eight-year-old brother to run and leave the park to call for help as the dog continued its vicious attack. When Blue went for her right arm, she allowed him to bite it and used her left arm to tie his lead to a fence.
Hospitalisation and Surgery
Paramedics arrived and Potts was taken by blue-light ambulance to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. She underwent a two-hour surgery to address wounds on her legs and arm. She remained in hospital for a couple of days before being discharged and now requires regular wound dress changes.
Potts said: "The armed response team arrived, and he wouldn't calm down so he was euthanised. He pierced my bicep muscle and pierced bits of my thigh. I'd still be in hospital if it wasn't for my partner Rachel, and without my kick boxing background I don't think I'd have been strong enough to fight him off."
Police Visit Before Attack
In the weeks before the attack, police visited Potts after receiving an anonymous tip-off that she owned an XL Bully. They determined that Blue was an American Bulldog by taking a photo of his head and, as a result, did not take him away.
