UNITED KINGDOM -- A gold medal winning swimmer is lucky to have escaped unscathed after her dog was savaged and killed by a pit bull type dog.
Paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward had been walking her Yorkshire terrier Maisie back to her Sketty home when her pet suddenly came under attack.
The 29-year-old said the pit bull appeared from behind them, as they strolled along Glan yr Afon Gardens, and jumped on Maisie's back — leading her to scream out in pain.
Then the dog — which police suspect might be a type which it is illegal to keep as a pet — attempted to attack the sportswoman twice while it had Maisie in its mouth.
Her agent Peter Underhill said he feared that if the pit bull had bitten Stephanie it could have hit her hopes of competing in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Stephanie, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said: "Maisie started screaming and I did too.
"I tried to pull the dog (the pit bull) off but it didn't have a lead or collar. I smacked the dog in the face twice and tried to pull his left ear to try to pull him off."
She added: "The dog tried to bite me twice even though it had my dog in its mouth — it was horrible.
"It later dropped Maisie on the floor but when I went over to her she was dead."
The police were called and she said officers immediately arrived on scene.
Stephanie said she understood a pitbull had previously floored an elderly resident in the same area and had even bitten the ear off another dog — but the police were unaware of any further incidents.
The swimmer, who won a medal haul of three golds and two silvers, at the European Paralympic Swimming Championships in Berlin 2011, added: "I was very lucky that the dog didn't go for me."
Mr Underhill added: "If this dog had bitten Stephanie it could have had far-reaching consequences for her Olympic hopes next year."
A South Wales Police spokeswoman added: "Following an incident in the Glan Yr Afon Gardens area of Sketty on the evening of July 18, officers attended and a dog, believed to be a prohibited type, was seized under the provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Act.
"Under the Act a warrant was also executed at a property in the area, on July 19, on suspicion that further dogs of prohibited types might be being kept at a local address. None were found.
"A 30-year-old male has been reported for summons to court under legislation related to owning a dog of a prohibited type. These proceedings are ongoing."
(This is South Wales - August 2, 2011)
