Man has ‘lucky escape’ after neighbour’s Cane Corso bit his neck

A man had a lucky escape after his neighbour's dog attacked him and bit his neck.

Farzad Housseinpour, 42, went to take his own dog out for a walk when the Cane Corso lunged at him on September 28.

The former security guard managed to get the dog off him, and said blood was "everywhere".

Farzad was rushed to hospital after the police were called.

Doctors stitched him back up and told him if the bite had been 1mm deeper it would have hit a major artery and potentially killed him.

Despite an apology from the neighbour and agreement to keep a muzzle on the dog, Farzad is too afraid to return home, where he shares a garden with the neighbour and their dog.

Farzad, from Netherton, in Huddersfield, said: "I'm too scared to go back to my house, I used to be security, even in Huddersfield, and all my life no one has even scratched my body."

"It's all been traumatising, from morning to night I'm thinking about it, my mood has changed and I just feel I'm not safe around anything. I'm on anxiety medication, too."

Farzard went to take his rottweiler crossed with a German shepherd out for a walk.

Talking to Talk to the Press, he said: "I came out of my house at around 10am to take my dog out. It's just a routine for me, but I realised I had forgotten my phone. I went back to get it, and when I left again, I saw straight away it was there.

"My dog came to me, she's a lovely dog, and she knew something was wrong. But she couldn't stop my neighbour's dog. She just grabbed my neck. It was like he was hunting a cow or something, she was trying to kill me.

"At this moment I just remember screaming. It was as if those three minutes were the whole day. It all slowed down. I managed to grab the dog's head and get her away. There was blood everywhere."

A neighbour of Farzad's called the police when they saw the blood, and the police took him straight to hospital.

When Farzad arrived in the hospital, doctors were shocked at his injuries. He had a deep gash, multiple bite marks and bruises forming around his neck.

He said: "The doctors looked at my injuries and said, it's your lucky day. They said if it was 1mm down I would have died, because it would have got my artery."

Farzad had a CT scan to assess his injuries, he was given a rabies vaccine, a course of penicillin, and a single stitch in the middle of his neck wound, leaving the sides open to allow any bacteria to escape.

After the attack, Farzad stayed at his brothers house to recover but is now too scared to return home.

He said: "This dog has a taste of my blood, what about next time? They [police] don't care what will happen next. I was covered in blood, next time I'm not going to be alive.

"I live alone, but now no one will visit me if I return home, because they're all just as scared as me of the dog."

Farzad says that the police have come to an agreement with the neighbour for the dog to wear a muzzle, and have passed on an apology letter, but Farzad says it's not enough.

The apology letter says: "I admit I should have taken better responsibility to secure my dog on this date and I am really sorry that you have received injuries because of my dog's actions."

The owner has agreed to muzzle the dog, but Farzad doesn't believe this will happen.

He said: "I made the dream house for myself, but now I'd prefer to start my car, put my dogs in it, drive away and live in a tent. I'm not going to go back, I can't.

"I was the strongest man in the world, and now I'm not confident at all. I'm still living with my brother. It's not fair on him, it's his space."

Another neighbour, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "It's just ridiculous what's happening. We're all living in fear. It's a huge dog. We've been living in fear for months and the police aren't taking it seriously."

Video footage captured by the neighbour shows the dog being aggressive with another female neighbour.

The neighbour said: "We all miss Farzad. He's a massive part of the community, and he's too terrified to come back home."

West Yorkshire Police have now closed the investigation.

A statement said: "Officers investigated an incident which took place on the morning of 28 September in which a dog caused injury while dangerously out of control in a shared communal garden in Plantation Drive, Newsome, Huddersfield.

"The owner of the dog was spoken to and has apologised for the incident. He has also agreed to take measures to ensure the dog is kept under control in future.

"The victim has been consulted and agreed to this resolution."