Christmas was marred for the Cousins family after their German Short-Haired Pointer, Maddie, was attacked by another dog while they were walking on the Wilderness Walkway, near Brightwater Tce, about 1.30pm on Friday.
The walkway is one of the few areas left in the city where dogs can be let off their leashes.
Gary Cousins was walking their three dogs when a dog came running towards them.
"It was like a lion," he said.
"It jumped on Maddie's back, she screamed and yelled. She just crouched down and whimpered. I had a stick which I usually carry and I whacked the dog with it. If I hadn't had that stick, I don't know what I would have done."
He said within a split second the dog had ripped a 3-centimetre deep gash in Maddie's back.
"It was awful. I keep lying in bed and remembering it. I'll be a bit timid and nervous next time I go walking."
Mr Cousins and his wife, Helen, took Maddie to the vet, where she had more than $500 worth of surgery. Mrs Cousins, who planned to report the attack to the Palmerston North District Council, said it was lucky her husband was carrying a stick.
"At the time my husband spoke to the owner who said 'Sorry mate, I didn't see you'," she said.
"He obviously knew his dog was a problem but let it off anyway. There wasn't time to exchange details so we are yet to track him down and ask him to pay ... Our concern is that this dog will attack other dogs and potentially could accidentally harm a young child if they were to be walking their dog."
The Cousins have walked their dogs along the walkway for more than 30 years, and have never had any problems.
"We'd like to find the chap and his dog," she said.
"We know who he is, we just don't know his name. My husband has seen him many times walking his dog."
(Manawatu Standard - Dec 27, 2011)
