There is report on the mail online as well.

Apparently they removed a pup from the premises as well.

Very sad all round.

rune

Just awful, I wonder if the woman was a visitor to the house. I also wondered about the motives for owning this mix.

There are people trying to revive the breed, when you read the characteristics you wonder why.

I always wonder why did these breeds become extinct in the first place? Was it because they were unpredictable and have poor characteristics, or were they just bred so much with other breeds that it changed all together?

It will be interesting to see if they have taken blood tests to determine the DNA of the dog. It might give more insight into the dogs bloodline. No doubt by then the hype will have died down and we wont here anymore.

Just watched the news,neighbours have said the dog was not dangerous,it was onlead etc etc....

Seems very strange......
The police are supposed to be releasing more details later.

Never heard of the 'breed' either...as if there were not enough Mastiff type crosses out there already.

It won't give any insights into the dog's bloodline unless a both parents were dna profiled and b it turns out to be a pedigree dog, and it may have additional identification via tattoo, chip, KC registration etc.

So sad i cant imagine what that poor woman went through

one thing that stood out for me was that a neighbour said that dog was kept outside... i dont want to make assumptions (cant help it sometimes, and i always think their must be a reason things like this happen) but having a mastiff type breed and keeping him/her outside, the dog may have been used as a guard dog... that may be totally wrong, but it was just what my first thought was.

Police are trying to contact the owner of the house, Alex Blackburn-Smith. The woman was said to be a lodger. There was another woman of the same age at the house when it happened and a young child, under 5. They are not commenting on the breed at the moment except to say it was a "large" dog - and the puppy was also a "large breed". It was also clamied that neighbours had reported the dogs to the Safer Neighbourhood group but nothing was done.

I just saw that on the news as well, apparently the pup has been taken into police custody. I really hope it is ok and safe from being destroyed Unfortunatly if they find out it is related to the dog which done the attack, they will likely destroy it.
Poor bubby. Hoping for the best!

I'm confused why are people more worried about the dog than the person killed. Or more interested in the puppy than the 5 year old that was also in the house? Some dog owners are too quick to say poor dog and it wasn't the dogs fault etc forgetting the human tragedy involved.

I hope that if the puppy is deemed dangerous it is PTS. If not the liklihood as there are so many in shelters it would anyway as finding a home for a dog deemed to come from a dangerous home is unlikely.

Every dog attack effects us all as owners. It effects public perceptions of dogs and owners and reinforces silly laws such as the dog control orders in some parks.

The police are looking for the owner.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12072694