UNITED KINGDOM -- A DOG owner has spoken of her horror after being attacked by another dog while out walking her pet.
Marlene Mardle (58), from Church Langley, required hospital treatment after being bitten on the hand and leg as she desperately tried to drag the Staffordshire Bull Terrier off her Jack Russell, Bella.
According to Ms Mardle, the dog bolted from a house in Perry Springs and chased the pair before locking its jaws around Bella’s throat.
"I was absolutely frantic," she said. "This ferocious dog just came haring round the corner and attacked us from behind.
"I didn’t know what to do. I tried to drag it off Bella but it had its jaws locked around her throat."
The bull terrier then turned its attention to Ms Mardle, bit¬ing her fingers before going for her leg while two other women – one of whom Ms Mardle believes was the dog’s owner – tried in vain to get the animal under control
"I was in a right state, completely covered in blood and in
a complete panic," she added. "In the end a man appeared and between the four of us we managed to get the dog off Bella. None of them said a word to me, not even to ask me how I was.
"It was only because two teenage boys stopped to help on their way home from school that I managed to get Bella back home. I can’t thank them enough."
Bella was rushed to the vet, where she received treatment for wounds to her neck and an abscess on her leg. A shaken Ms Mardle was then taken to hospital herself by a neighbour.
"I still can’t move two of my fingers and I’ve got a nasty bruise on my knee where I was bitten," she said. "Not only that but I’ve got vet bills potentially running into hun¬dreds of pounds. As far as I’m concerned the dog’s owner should be made to pay up.
She added: "Next time it could be a child. I just want to warn people walking their dogs in the area to be wary of this dog. In my view it should be destroyed."
Police confirmed they are investigating the incident and have appealed to anyone who witnessed the attack – which took place on Monday, May 21 at 3.30pm – to contact officers on 101.
(Harlow Star - June 1, 2012)
