The father of an eight-year-old girl attacked by a pitbull has called for the dog to be destroyed.

Terry Samuels yesterday told The Royal Gazette the dog came close to killing his daughter Tiara on Monday afternoon and it has attacked others in the past.

"The dog is a vicious dog,'' Mr. Samuels said. "This dog has to be put down.'' Disputing Police reports that the dog was on a very long leash, Mr. Samuels said on the day of the horrifying incident the dog was unleashed in the owner's Clarke's Lane, Pembroke apartment.

He noted that the sliding door of the apartment was ajar due to a cord leading into the place.

"The dog must have nuzzled its way out,'' Mr. Samuels said, adding that the owner was abroad for some two months and the dog was under the care of a housesitter.

Mr. Samuels recalled that he was leaning over a wall talking with a neighbour when he saw the feared animal.

He estimated that it had travelled some 15 to 20 feet before the attack took place in his front yard.

"It first tried to get to me,'' Mr. Samuels said. "But I kicked out at it and I thought it would go away. But it came around the car and I kept kicking it away. Then it went for my daughter.'' Jumping in front of his daughter to protect her, the angry and terrified father was able to kick the dog away, but not before it jumped up at her chest and left two fang marks.

Mr. Samuels, who picked up a rock and ran after the dog, said: "People are terrified of that dog. It has to be put down. I don't want my daughter to have to go through anything like this again.

"If those dogs are trained for violence, they first attack the chest, than the throat.'' Still clearly upset about the incident, Mr. Samuels said he shuddered to think about what would have happened to his daughter if he had not been in the yard with her.

He noted that earlier in the day she had been playing in the front yard with other children.

He also pointed out that the same dog had attacked his friend about 18 months ago and a woman walking by with her daughter some three to four months ago.

Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness has promised to review laws governing dogs which are bred to be vicious.