UNITED KINGDOM -- A WOMAN whose hand was mauled during a vicious attack by two dogs has said she is horrified they are still allowed to roam the streets.
Rachel Sparrow, 34, was walking her pug Lily on Saturday evening when she was attacked by two Staffordshire Bull Terriers next to the children’s play area in Queen Elizabeth Drive.
The mum-of-one was injured when she tried to prise the jaws of one of the larger dogs from the throat of the six-year-old pug. Now she could lose the ring finger on her right hand.
But while a 23-year-old man faces court action for allowing the dogs to get out of control in a public place, the pair have been returned to their owner on condition they wear a muzzle.
She described the moment the dogs struck and how bystanders rushed to her aid. “I was walking my dog by the play park at about 8.30pm on Saturday and was crossing the road when I saw these two Staffies not on leads. Their eyes were fixed on Lily,” she said.
“Within seconds one of them grabbed her on the right side of the throat and the other one grabbed her left side and they started shaking her like a rag doll or a piece of meat.
“I tried to prise one of the dog’s jaw and it clamped down on my hand. I was screaming and I could not get them off. People rushed to help and a man came from his home with a bucket of water, which he threw over them.
“I blacked out for a minute or two and when I came around I was being cradled by a lady. I was losing a lot of blood.
“Lily was taken to Drove Vets and her throat was ripped to pieces. She nearly didn’t make it.
“I had to go the hospital and am seeing a consultant about my right hand. They said I could even lose my ring finger.
“I have trouble sleeping and every time I close my eyes I picture the whole thing again.”
Mrs Sparrow, who works for the Metropolitan Police, said she was glad she was not with her three-year-old son when the attack happened. She fears the dogs could be free to harm again.
“The dogs have not been destroyed and it is absolutely horrifying that they might be on the loose,” she said.
“I have a little boy and I thank God he was not with me. What if this had happened to a child?
“It will be long time before I walk my dog around here again – I won’t go out on my own now.”
A police spokesman said the dogs had not been seized but officers would step up patrols of the area.
“The dogs are still with the owner under condition that they must be muzzled when they are in public,” she said.
“Our dog section is looking into seizure legislation but that is ongoing but the officers are very much concerned about the community impact this incident has had.”
(Swindon Advertiser - July 28, 2011)
