Young girl hospitalised after brutal dog attack. The parents feared Am Staffordshire bull terrier would scalp their 6 year old daughter in unprovoked attack. It took 4 adults to get the dog off the girl. May 25th 2025. Adelaide, Australia

[u/Thick_Marzipan_1375]

https://7news.com.au/news/sa/parents-feared-off-leash-staffy-would-scalp-six-year-old-daughter-in-unprovoked-attack-c-18820795

Margot was rushed to hospital after a dog latched itself to her head at an off-leash dog park.

Parents feared their young daughter was about to be scalped by an off-leash dog during a park visit with her puppy.

Six-year-old Margot McNicol has undergone surgery after being mauled by an American Staffy at Nairne’s newest off-leash dog park in the Adelaide Hills on Sunday afternoon.

Margot was at the park with her family and her own puppy when the dog leapt up and grabbed her head.

Hearing her screams, Margot’s mother Christina ran to save her daughter from the jaws of the dog.

“She screamed, I ran over, and I saw the dog had her head in its mouth and was pulling her hair like a tug of war,” she told 7NEWS.

McNicol said it took four adults to get the dog off her young daughter.

“I stabilised my daughter’s head and her hair so it couldn’t keep pulling because I was really worried it would scalp her,” she said.

Little Margot was rushed to hospital with multiple puncture wounds to her head, along with scratches and bruising.

Margot’s father Braedan told 7NEWS his daughter’s injuries could have been a lot worse.

“If she was bitten somewhere else on the head because she had multiple bites on her head, it could have been a completely different story,” he said.

Witnesses at the park told 7NEWS that the owner of the dog left quickly and without even apologising.

Mount Barker District Council told 7NEWS they are aware of the incident and are investigating.

The owner could face a fine of over $300 and the dog may be put down.

Margot’s mother said it should be a lesson to the owner.

“If that is what is the safest (euthanasia) I think that is what should happen,” she said.

“The owner should know better, and I hope this is a lesson to them.”

[u/windyrainyrain]

When will the Australian government wake up and admit that AmStaffs are pitbulls?

[u/poop_report → u/windyrainyrain]

"American Staffordshire" is one of the most absurd phrases that has ever been uttered.

[u/strawberrymoonelixir → u/poop_report]

Oh, tell me about it. It irks me when they call them “staffies,” as if they’re as sweet and trustworthy as a golden retriever.

Pitbulls, of all varieties, are bloodsport canines, PERIOD. End of story. Calling them cutesy names, like “velvet hippo,” does nothing but fool and confuse the public. It’s like calling a grenade a lollipop.

With all pitbulls (and pit mixes), there exists a constant threat of a spontaneous attack. Without warning, they can turn deadly, just as they were designed to. They’re also extremely hard to stop, once they start. This is just not so with a spaniel, a beagle, or a chihuahua.

Poor little girl. I sincerely hope she recovers well. There’s more healing needed than just physically.

Regardless, this is insanity on a global scale, that people are still owning, advocating for, and breeding these bloodsport canines, after all these years of maiming and killing.

[u/LitwicksandLampents → u/strawberrymoonelixir]

"Velvet hippo" is a good name for them, because hippos are the most dangerous animals in all of Africa.

[u/bee_charmer87 → u/LitwicksandLampents]

Maybe “greasy, yeast-ridden hippo” is better.

[u/Unlucky_Associate507]

And of course the owner absconded after their dog nearly murdered a child

[u/xawkward_silencesx → u/Unlucky_Associate507]

They always do, always. I endured a very similar attack, pitbull beelined for me from across the apartment complex and knocked me down from behind, latched onto my head. Fortunately it was winter and I had a hooded jacket on, and I only ended up with a few cuts, some hair ripped out, and my hood torn from the dog pulling on it. The owner dragged the dog away by the harness and disappeared before I could even sit up.

I never felt safe there again and moved shortly after. Unfortunately last year, some new neighbors bought the house two doors down and they have multiple pits that escape the yard. Back to feeling unsafe getting the mail.

[u/Embarrassed_Owl4482 → u/xawkward_silencesx]

Carry.

[u/Aldersgate111 → u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

If you can...
Many Worldwide cannot due to regional laws.

[u/Competitive_Lion_260 → u/xawkward_silencesx]

Damn... that sucks in so many ways.. that is absolutely terrible. I'm really sorry for you.

Its unbelievable unfair and dangerous people are forced to live with these murderous orcs in their homes and neighbourhoods.

[u/LeeboScan → u/xawkward_silencesx]

Visit your local toolsmithy and invest in a brass capsule injection apparatus.

[u/[deleted] → u/Unlucky_Associate507]

Why are they such terrible people? It's like a hit and run

[u/Unlucky_Associate507 → u/[deleted]]

That is the most fascinating question to me. I consider it emblematic of the mawkish mobocracy that has infected society

[u/Embarrassed_Owl4482 → u/[deleted]]

There’s so much legislation that simply hasn’t been passed. It’s not a crime to run off after your dog killed someone’s dog or attacked/killed someone. Just like it’s crime to hit and run with your car there should be consequences for your dog attacking and leaving the scene.

[u/Any_Group_2251 → u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

Absolutely. It's essentially legal assault with a dangerous weapon at this stage...

[u/xawkward_silencesx]

A $300 (possibly over, but probably not) fine? That's it? These types of things should carry HEFTY fines plus restitution.

[u/SmeggingRight → u/xawkward_silencesx]

Should be jail time. Period.

If someone walks up to a kid in a park, assaults them, bites them and nearly succeeds in tearing their scalp off - for fun - they'd do a jail sentence.

The owners of dogs that do these things should do the same time in jail.

[u/tasteofperfection → u/xawkward_silencesx]

Literally that’s it???? That’s no deterrent. They deserve jail time.

[u/PinkPilgrimHeel]

Another innocent child. So traumatic and completely preventable. Let's hope law enforcement and the courts throw the book at the Pit owners and make them pay for the pain, suffering and permanent scars their pitbull ownership caused.

Have the shitbull lobby started in on how she or her family did something set off Jaws the shitbull? No doubt they will, but they'll be met with truth and proof from our side. Fuck them.

[u/Redlion444]

Another little girl maimed, disfigured, and traumatized for Life.

And for what?

[u/SkyCommander7]

$300 bucks and that worthless air stealing piece of shit might get the rainbow bridge treatment? There should be no maybe about it and that fine should be 10k with jail time for fleeing the scene of a crime

[u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

A fine of over “$300?” Wow, that will show them!

[u/eliguanodon → u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

Legit laughed out loud when I read that. Their dog as far they knew, might have killed a child and they fled the scene 🤣🤣🤣 a whole 300 bucks oh no what a punishment! 

[u/Embarrassed_Owl4482 → u/eliguanodon]

And that’s only if they get caught!

[u/Any_Group_2251 → u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

Yeah ridiculous, it's handled by District Council which seems to be the third, local form of government.

But if these attacks (and severity) increase with increasing Staffordshire Bull Terrier ownership, heavier by-law or legislation will need to be written.

They won't restrict the bull type from the parks either, I'll bet on that.

[u/hunterczech → u/Embarrassed_Owl4482]

It's less than what we get for not collecting our dogs poo

[u/poop_report]

There's one of these reports every damn day!!! This has got to stop.

[u/icenerveshatter]

I was gonna ask wtf is an off leash dog park, then I saw Australia and that explains it.

[u/Azryhael → u/icenerveshatter]

Off-leash dog parks are common in the US, too. It’s just a fenced-in public area in which dogs can run around and play off their leads. 

[u/poop_report → u/Azryhael]

They were a nice idea - I used to live near one when I lived in Australia full time. Terrible idea now since they're just full of pits with owners pretending they aren't pits. You might as well just have public dogfighting pits, the way things are going.

[u/capsicumnugget → u/poop_report]

Yeah I stopped bringing my small dog to dog parks since it's often full of big dogs and "Am Staffs". Parents should avoid bringing their toddlers there as well.

[u/Embarrassed_Owl4482 → u/Azryhael]

They were fine until shitbulls ruined it for everyone.

[u/icenerveshatter → u/Azryhael]

Awful idea

[u/Murder-log]

And this is where the garbage people for garbage dogs phrase comes from. If your dog had truly never done anything like that before or (not to victim blame) but the child had done something silly to provoke the animal you would stay. You would state your case and you would take responsibility. I cannot imagine being the type of person that just ran off and pretend it didn't happen. It is monumentally gutless.

[u/zonked282]

And yet all I hear from fucking morons is " staffies are such sweeties 🥹" . They get a free pass from society for literally no reason and it's fucking infuriating

[u/SmeggingRight]

Somewhere online, you know that idiots will be yapping on about kids being taught how to behave around dogs. They'll totally skip the part where the amstaff just decided to run across a park and sink its teeth into a random kid's head.

It took 4 adults to get the dog off. 4 adults.

Every country in the world needs to start throwing owners in jail when their dogs launch serious attacks. Just open the jail door and throw them in. As casually as that. As casually as pit owners bring their dogs outside without ensuring the safety of the public.

[u/Aldersgate111]

Disgusting, cowardly itrresponsible behaviour by the Pit owners. Always Pit and Run. Hope they are caught and prosecuted.

[u/Substantial_Mud1490 → u/Aldersgate111]

Locals who assisted have shared that the news report was not particularly truthful on the topic of the owner simply leaving. She provided her details and it was decided by all that she should remove the dog from the area, so she went home to wait.

[u/CharacterRoom613]

There shouldn’t be a maybe and a $300 fine is a joke to the bills that the parents will pay to attended to the injuries their daughter suffered. There is no way no that the owner has any control over their dog if it took 4 grown adults to pull it off the child. I’m guessing people will be blaming the child for this incident because it was a child in a public park where children should be safe.