Katie Elliot, a 22-year-old mother of three, endured a harrowing attack by two XL Bully dogs while walking home from work in Clock Face on May 15 last year, according to the Mirror. The brutal assault left her with severe injuries and lasting trauma, as the dogs bit her repeatedly and dragged her to the ground. Terrified and in agony, Katie believed she wouldn’t survive.
The attack began around 10:55 p.m. while Katie was on the phone with her 15-year-old sister, who could only listen helplessly as Katie’s screams echoed through the call. Nearby residents rushed to help, using sticks to fend off the dogs—named Kodak and Love—but the aggressive animals continued the assault for about five minutes.
Katie sustained serious injuries to her shoulder, chest, and arms, including a significant degloving injury on her right arm, with damage down to the bone. After the attack, a resident brought her into their home for safety, while the dog Kodak was returned to his owner, Kelis Smith, who had been searching for the escaped dogs. Police found the second dog soon after, and Smith was subsequently arrested, Liverpool Echo reported
Kelis Smith, appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on November 6, pleaded guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dangerous dog out of control causing injury. She received a 12-month prison sentence. In her victim statement, Katie shared how the attack has severely impacted her life: “My sleep pattern has been affected, and I still have nightmares about what happened. Sometimes all I can see is Kodak’s face. I get flashbacks where I feel like I’m reliving what has happened.”
Katie’s trauma has led her to avoid being outside alone. “I can’t even sit in my own front garden without someone being with me,” she explained. Since the incident, she has only been able to pick up her children from school a few times. “I feel I have lost my independence,” she said, adding that she now has an intense fear of all dogs, which she believes will be lifelong.
Her sister, who was on the phone during the attack, has also been deeply affected, experiencing nightmares and needing counseling. “She knew something very bad was happening and couldn’t do anything to stop it,” Katie said.
Sentencing Smith, Judge Ian Harris described the attack as “ferocious,” adding, “The victim’s screams were heard by her sister, to whom she was speaking on her mobile phone just before the attack.” Smith, who wore a black hoodie in court, showed little reaction as she was sentenced but became visibly upset when the judge announced that the dogs would be destroyed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.