Simon King, 37, was walking his year-old Rottweiler puppy near his home when what he believes was a Staffordshire pit bull terrier attacked them.
As he desperately tried to prise his young dog from the animal’s jaws, two police officers who happened to be passing shot it with a Taser gun to force it to let them go.
It is thought to be only the second time Avon and Somerset officers have used one of the electric stun guns on a dog.
Mr King, who was left with deep puncture wounds on his hand when he was bitten in the attack, praised the officers for their timely intervention and said that if they had not been there, his puppy Stella might not have survived.
Mr King, a former fitter who had to give up his job after a head injury, was walking Stella in Upper Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, when the attack happened.
He said: “I saw three young guys come from nowhere and this dog was a couple of seconds behind them, off its lead. It saw Stella and that was it, it just went for her and latched on to her neck. The moment it saw her it ran at her and just didn’t stop.”
Mr King dived in to help Stella and tried to pull the two dogs apart.
He said: “It went on for about two or three minutes. I got down on the floor and punched and kicked it in the head a few times, but it just acted like I wasn’t even there. I was shouting at the men to get their dog off but they didn’t go anywhere near it and just stood there.”
As Mr King grappled with the dog he heard a voice say: “What do you want me to do?”
He said: “I thought it was the dog owners, and I was just about to shout, ‘get your effing dog off mine’ when I looked up and saw two police officers with their Tasers drawn.”
The officers had been visiting a nearby address with social services and had stumbled across the incident. With the weapons’ red laser sights pointed at the aggressor dog, one of the officers shot it.
Mr King said: “I think they hesitated for a moment because I was in the middle of it all and they didn’t want to hit me or my dog, and then one of them said, ‘Shoot it’.
“I kind of realised what was going on and just grabbed Stella and turned the other dog towards police so they couldn’t miss. Then I heard a crack go off and the dog being Tasered.”
But even after it was shot the dog was little more than stunned.
Mr King said: “It let go of Stella and hit the floor, but then it just stood there panting like nothing had happened.”
The officers took Mr King to Weston General Hospital for his hand to be treated, and Stella was rushed to an emergency vet for treatment to wounds to her throat. She has now fully recovered.
Mr King praised the officers for their actions.
He said: “I am grateful to them, and if they hadn’t been there it would have been a lot worse. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that experience, and if it was a child they wouldn’t stand a chance.”
A police spokesperson confirmed the dog was Tasered and that an investigation into last Friday’s incident is now under way.
Anyone with information should call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
There are 355 Avon and Somerset police officers licensed to carry a Taser. Over the last year Tasers were used 212 times, excluding those used by firearms officers.
(Bristol Evening Post - March 13, 2012)
