A hero father has revealed how he saved an 11-year-old boy who was left seriously injured after being mauled by a dog in a horrific attack.
Gary Gaze, 47, explained how he scaled a fence in order to help the boy when he heard screams from a park in Speke, Liverpool, while at a family barbecue.
He described how he found the boy pouring with blood and with bite marks all over his body, keeping him awake by talking to him about his favourite footballer, Mo Salah.
The schoolboy was rushed to hospital after suffering extensive injuries to his face, legs, arms and back during the attack.
Gary Gaze, 47, (pictured) rushed to help a boy who had been mauled by a dog after hearing screams coming from a park in Speke, Liverpool (above)
A 72-year-old man from the Speke area has been arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place and remains in custody for questioning.
Officers believe that one of two dogs attacked the boy yesterday afternoon, and are currently working to trace the whereabouts of both animals.
Mr Gaze said he tried to keep the youngster calm by talking to him about Liverpool footballer Mo Salah.
He said: ‘I was at a barbecue in my girlfriend’s back garden and we’d finished eating. The park is at the back where she lives.
‘You hear kids screaming all the time but I thought ‘that’s not a normal scream, what the hell is going on?’
Mr Gaze, who himself has a young son, continued: ‘I jumped up the fence and saw two dogs – pitbull types – on this lad and he was just screaming ‘get them off’.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. Pictured are officers on the road next to the park
The 11-year-old was rushed to hospital after suffering extensive injuries during the attack in the park in Speke (above). Police officers were seen on the scene this morning
‘By the time I got there, someone was trying to get hold of the dogs and the boy had climbed up on to a fence in the basketball court.
‘Survivor instinct had just kicked in. The lad was traumatised, he had blood coming out of everywhere and was shaking.’
He continued: ‘I just cuddled him and got him to safety. He thought he was going to die – he kept saying he wanted his dad.
‘I said ‘Mate, you are not going to die, I’m going all the way with you here.’
‘I just tried to distract him until police turned up. I was ringing the dad on my phone because I put his dad’s number in. He just kept saying he wanted his dad so I was trying to be like a dad there for him.’
Mr Gaze, who is a ramp agent at Liverpool Airport, described how blood was pouring from the young boy.
Mr Gaze described how he spoke to the boy about Liverpool footballer Mo Salah (above) in a bid to keep him calm
He said: ‘He had blood coming from a gaping wound on his leg and chest but the one I was most worried about was at the back of his leg, which was about three or four inches.
‘I was trying to take his attention away from it. He kept saying ‘Why did the dogs have to do that?”
Mr Gaze, who has a young son of his own, said a police officer made the decision to rush him to hospital because of the severity of his condition.
Not wanting to leave the boy on his own, Mr Gaze decided to ride with him to Alder Hey Hospital, where the boy’s mum was waiting, in the police car.
Mr Gaze added: ‘It took us about 50 minutes to calm him down – I said I was going to buy him a pair of trainers.
‘I could see he was shaking and trying to go to sleep, so I was trying to talk to him about football.
Mr Gaze (above) travelled with the boy to hospital, where his mother was waiting for him
‘I kept talking about Mo Salah. He said he loves [Nike] 110s and I said ‘Tomorrow I’m going to buy you a pair of 110s because you’re a little soldier.’
‘I was caked in blood because I kept wiping his face. He had scrapes all over his knees like he had been dragged.’
Once they got to hospital, Mr Gaze said the boy’s mother started screaming after seeing her son’s injuries.
He said: ‘His mum was already at the hospital and when she saw him she just started screaming.’
The father added that he didn’t know what happened to the dogs, as he had been trying to help the boy.
The boy, who has not yet been named, remains at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in a serious but not life-threatening condition.
Police (pictured on the scene) are currently working to trace the dogs involved in the attack
Mr Gaze described how he heard screams coming from the park (left) before rushing to help
Other neighbours also said they heard screams coming from the park yesterday afternoon.
One, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘We were in the garden when we heard screams.
‘It was terrible, you knew by the sound that it wasn’t just kids playing. It was a terrible shock when we found out what happened.
The neighbour added: ‘We’d been talking about dogs and how they should keep them on leads on that playing pitch.
‘Quite often they will just let them loose. I think there should be a big sign telling them not to let them off the lead.’
The man was arrested under Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Police are working to determined the breed of the dogs involved.
The boy remains at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (above) in a serious but not life-threatening condition
Officers are conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area and looking at any CCTV footage that might be available.
Chief Inspector Keith McLachlan, from Merseyside Police, said: ‘This was a horrific attack which has resulted in a boy suffering extensive injuries to his head and body.
‘I want to reassure people that he is now getting the best possible care and treatment for his injuries at Alder Hey Children’s’ Hospital.
‘An extensive investigation is underway to establish exactly what has happened and to determine the breed of dogs involved.’
Ch Insp McLachlan appealed for anyone with information about the attack, which took place at about 5.35pm, to come forward.
He said: ‘An extensive investigation is underway to establish exactly what has happened and to determine the breed of dogs involved.
‘I would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident, who may have information which could help us find the dogs or help with our investigation to come forward as soon as possible.
‘This case highlights in the starkest terms the potential dangers of dogs and I would appeal to anyone with information about dangerous dogs in their area to contact us so that we can take pro-active action.’
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