UNITED KINGDOM -- A woman has hit out at irresponsible owners of so-called ‘trophy’ dogs after her Jack Russell was savaged in a public park.
The horrific attack happened at the Amersham Road playing field at 5.30pm on Saturday, July 28, when a neighbour was walking Cookie for owner Caroline Cook.
Mrs Cook, 35, of Nire Road, said her neighbour had taken five-year-old Cookie for a walk with his own Staffordshire bull terrier/boxer cross as a favour, because she is pregnant and had not been well.
The horrific attack happened at the Amersham Road playing field at 5.30pm on Saturday, July 28, when a neighbour was walking Cookie for owner Caroline Cook.
Mrs Cook, 35, of Nire Road, said her neighbour had taken five-year-old Cookie for a walk with his own Staffordshire bull terrier/boxer cross as a favour, because she is pregnant and had not been well.
“The two dogs are used to each other. My neighbour said he saw two men entering the park with the other dog and thought it was time to go home, so he put both dogs back on their leads. It was a Staffie / pit bull-type dog that came up, sniffed Cookie’s nose and then mauled her, chewing her neck away,” she said.
“My neighbour let go of his dog and it scarpered. He was just trying his hardest to get the other dog off mine – Cookie was flaked out – and he was bitten himself. There is nothing we can do legally because he was splitting the dogs up, but no human being in his right mind would let two dogs fight it out.
“The owner of the dog that attacked mine put his on a lead and it was still trying to attack. He did say something like it wasn’t his dog and he would get it put down because he had children of his own, then he walked off.”
Mrs Cook said her neighbour didn’t really see him go, but the man was in his mid-twenties.
Cookie was rushed to the vet for emergency surgery and her owner is now anxiously waiting to see how she will recover.
“She has an open hole and drains in her neck at the moment. They can’t stitch all of it because there is no skin there, but she has three layers of stitches internally and stitches on top,” she said.
Mrs Cook said she was angry about owners who had aggressive breeds to make themselves look tough, with scant regard for what could happen.
“I want to make people aware of ‘statement’ dogs that are around, and kids walking powerful dogs – there needs to be a lot more control,” she said.
“I have reported the incident to the police and they were quite good.
“They said they can’t do anything because it was dog on dog – but it could have been a kid who was hurt. I want people to take responsibility for their animals and I want this person to come forward and take responsibility for what that animal has done to my dog.”
The outraged owner has since learnt her neighbour may be able to take matters further as he was also bitten, which could mean the dog could be classed as dangerous.
Mrs Cook said her much-loved Jack Russell has been attacked twice before – once by a Great Dane in the same Amersham Road field and once on private property, after which she also needed surgery on her neck.
The angry owner is keen to hear measures have been taken, like muzzling, to control the dog which struck on Saturday – and she warned others to be wary of trophy dogs and the potential dangers.
(Get Reading UK - August 9, 2012)
