Kate Hancock, 47, was knocked to the ground and bitten on the head, face and arms by the Great Dane-sized Anatolian shepherd dogs as she walked through a wood.
Her own dog Cassie, a German shepherd-cross, was killed in the ferocious attack by the pack that had escaped from the family home of Sarah and John Avery, the owner of Averys Wine Merchants.
[NOTE: In earlier article they describe "Cassie" as a Collie.]
Mrs Hancock was forced to spend four days in hospital and underwent plastic surgery on her face to help heal her scars following the traumatic ordeal.
She said: "It was horrifying. I am not sure how long the attack last for, but it was minutes. I was in fear for my life. God knows what would have happened if a child had been with me. To see your dog being mauled by other dogs and being incapable to help is every dog owners worst nightmare."
Mrs Avery, 65, was fined £10,000 and ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of being the owner of a dog causing injury while "dangerously" out of control.
Judge Julian Lambert, sentencing her at Bristol Crown Court, called on the rare dogs – used to guard sheep in Asia and bred to bring down wolves and big cats – to be banned.
One of the dogs had since died and another been rehomed, but the judge refused to put the remaining one down – despite hearing that they had attacked another person.
After the sentencing, Mrs Hancock described the horrifying moments she realised her life was in danger, after the pack of dogs flew at her while she walked through a wood.
She said: "I am a dog lover, so when I saw them coming towards me I had no fear. But when they approached I could see they were poised to attack.
"Initially one of the dogs attacked me, then as it was latched onto my arm the other two dogs started to attack my dog.
"I ran towards them screaming, trying to hit one of the bigger dogs with my lead.
"But then one of them – which was so big it came up to my waist – just knocked me over and started biting my face.
"I buried my head in the earth to tried and protect my eyes, while it was biting the back of my head.
"It then went back to attacking my dog and I realised there was nothing I could do to save her – they were jumping on her and biting her throat."
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| This is not the owner or the one of the attacking dogs. I posted it to show the size of an Anatolian Shepherd. |
They had been roaming the woods after escaping from Avery's home just 500 yards away.
The trial heard that Avery and her husband were in New Zealand at the time of the attack.
Her dogs were being cared for by her lodger, who was renting an annexe attached to her house.
Simon Morgan, prosecuting, said Avery had not fulfilled her responsibility to leave the animals in the care of someone who could adequately supervise them each day.
The court was told that 18 months earlier one of the dogs had escaped and attacked a man called Gareth Edwards, who was walking with his girlfriend in the woods.
He had needed stitches after the animal bit through his clothing. But the judge refused to order the destruction of the pet as it could not be proved which of the dogs attacked Mrs Hancock.
Judge Lambert ruled out destroying the remaining dog because it could not be proved that it caused the injuries to Mrs Hancock.
But he said: "It seems to me these dogs are not appropriate to be kept in England."
The court heard a civil claim between the pair had been settled before the trial. Neither party would confirm how much the settlement had been worth.
The Anatolian breed, which originated in central Turkey, are muscular dogs weighing up to 10st 10lbs and have the strength to take down wolves, horses and big cats.
Mrs Hancock said: "They are incredibly unsuitable dogs to be kept as family pets and people need to be aware of the harm these breeds can present.
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| Miss Hancock with her beloved Cassie |
"I have no animosity towards the Averys but I want to make sure these particular dogs don't attack again."
Speaking after the sentencing, Sarah said: "There is nothing I can say which will make her dog come back.
"What I would obviously like to say is that we are terribly sorry. It really has been a most unfortunate incident with bad consequences."
(Telegraph UK - November 23,2011)
Earlier:
