Julie Dearn was walking her 11-year-old dog Ben on a public bridleway near her home when she says the Staffie, which was off its lead, attacked him, biting his neck so hard that it went right through his muscle, down to the bone and severed his tendons.
The owner of the Staffie promised to pay all the vet bills says Mrs Dearn, but she and her husband have not heard anything from her since the incident on March 12 and as pensioners they cannot afford the bills.
Mrs Dearn, of Church Road, Upper Sundon, said: “It’s horrible. I keep having flashbacks in my head – it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. The woman is not replying to my texts or answering her phone. She hasn’t even bothered to see how my dog is. I don’t think she has any intention of paying for what her dog did. I’m a pensioner and my husband is long-term sick so the worry now is how to find the £2,000 for the bills.”
The couple expected their pet insurance to cover the cost but because Ben is over eight years old he is no longer covered.
Ben is recovering but he has stitches across his neck and down to his chest and will have a limp for the rest of his life.
He won’t go back down the lane where the attack happened. Mrs Dearn said: “That woman shouldn’t have a dog like that. Why wasn’t it on a lead with a muzzle?
“It was clamped around Ben’s neck so tightly it just wouldn’t let go, and she was trying to pull him off and just making it worse as it was tearing Ben’s skin more and more. Eventually it let go, turned around and bit her then ran off as if nothing had happened. People should know the damage these dogs can do is horrendous.
“It could be a child next – toddlers walk down that lane, if this dog attacked them like that they probably wouldn’t survive. My dog is in a very poorly way, the lady had no control over her dog and despite promising to pay whatever it cost us has not even bothered to see how my dog is.”
The incident was reported to Bedfordshire Police but a dog-on-dog attack is a civil matter.
(Luton Today - March 21, 2012)
