I had turned away for two seconds and heard a growl,' Mr Sim told the Standard.

The man told the Standard: 'He was playing with the dog and he turned away and the dog bit the girl on the face
It sounds like the father WAS in the room but had just turned away..

Taylor's grandmother Alison Leadbeater said her daughter had asked vets to put the dog down two weeks ago after it bit her brother Gary’s hand, but they had refused.

They had tried to take action..

I am not trying to defend the owners in any way and maybe there was more they could have done but if he had taken the dog out prior to this and shot it, most probably he would have been arrested for animal cruelty. They could have taken him to a shelter and given him up as to dangerous to have around their children.

For those not wanting to read the full article

Miss Leadbeater said she was worried about his behaviour and spoke to the vets as she was concerned about the children.
‘But they said they could retrain the animal and they could not put it down.
I feel sorry for all involved, especially the child.

My own thought is I would be afraid to have ANY big dog around a small child.