Jarek Pater was walking seven-month-old schnauzer Ozzy in Southfield Park, Loughborough, when his pet was set upon by a pair of Staffordshire Terrier-type dogs. They tore into Ozzy, causing serious injuries to his chest and legs, which have needed veterinary treatment costing £650 so far.
Mr Pater, from Loughborough, suffered a broken wrist when he punched one of the dogs to try get it to release Ozzy.
He said: "It was raining so I was standing under a tree, with Ozzy on a lead, and I saw the other two dogs about 70 yards away.
"I assumed as they were off the leash they would be fine, but they caught sight of Ozzy and came running over. I crouched down to try to protect him. They started biting him and I kicked one of them and punched the other, and that's how I hurt my wrist.
"There was a woman who was with the dogs and she just panicked. She shouted at me to stop hitting her dog, but if I hadn't done that I'm sure they would've killed him.
"Ozzy was covered in blood with a bites to his leg and a big tear in his chest."
The incident happened on Saturday, May 28, and the puppy has yet to fully recover.
"His owner just said, 'that's dogs for you,' and walked off," said Mr Pater.
"She just didn't seem to care what had happened.
"I hope the police can find the owner of the dogs that did this because I'm worried that it could happen to somebody else."
The two dogs were with the woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s at the time of the attack. Anyone with information can call police on 0116 222 2222.
(Leicester Mercury - July 9, 2011)
