UNITED KINGDOM -- A grandmother-of-five was badly injured as she saved her puppy from a violent dog attack in Nonsuch Park.
The pair were on their way back to the car park at about 1.30pm when two of the terriers emerged.
Mrs Blenman, said: “A black staff with a white chest came out of nowhere and grabbed [Bracken] by the shoulder and tossed her in the air.
“My dog was screaming.
“It tossed her around and started dragging her- I’m shouting at the woman: ‘grab your dog’."
Mrs Blenman, who uses a walking stick to help her with balance, managed to get to Bracken and throw herself over her to protect her.
She tried to get the bull terrier to let go of terrified Bracken, losing a nail in its gums.
The New Malden resident said: “All the time I was screaming.
“Two guys with [the woman] started kicking and punching it for ages trying to stop it."
Mrs Blenman put her right hand into its mouth to push it open so she could free Bracken’s neck from its mouth.
Eventually she got her puppy’s neck out but the Staffordshire bull terrier had hold of her hand.
She said: “I was staring in the dog’s eyes; I knew my face was next.”
One of the men managed to pull the dog off Mrs Blenman. She suffered puncture wounds to her hand, nearly lost the joint in her index finger and is permanently scarred.
Bracken had to have an operation as well as a tube put in place to drain her wound.
Apart from trips to the vets, Mrs Blenman has not been out on her own since the attack and is urging any witnesses to come forward.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Joanna Clarke, would like to speak to anyone in the park around the time as they may have vital information which will help their investigation and bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference EP/12/207.
(Guardian UK - Feb 2, 2012)