One of the blows was so forceful that the knife was said to have bent in half in what one witness described as a “bloodbath”.
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| It locked its jaw on to Monty’s head. What was he supposed to do, wait until it killed his dog? |
The attack took place after the bulldog, Tyson, was said to have attacked his dog, Monty, in Hampstead, north London.
Miss Jenkins, 41, begged passers-by to help her as Tyson died on the Aspern estate. “We were just clinging together right up against the fence and trying to keep away from the knives,” she said.
“I could feel bleeding but I just held him tightly. I just kept saying to Tyson, 'Hang on, please hang on, pull through.’
A vet was called but could not save Tyson.
Mr Stearman, 41, described the 90-lb bulldog as a “lunatic” and claimed it had been the subject of “hundreds” of complaints.
“I’d just stepped out my house and the dog went for Monty,” he said. “It wasn’t on a lead. It locked its jaw on to Monty’s head. He’s only little and he’s a donut around other dogs.
"It was like a lion on top of a gazelle. I was screaming for help and the owner was nowhere to be seen.
“When she did finally turn up five minutes later all she did was stroke her dog. I was kicking and punching it but it wouldn’t budge so I went into the kitchen and got three knives.
“I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but what was I supposed to do? Stand there and let it kill my dog?”
Mr Stearman says this same bulldog had tried to attack his dog three months previously. He said: ‘I literally had to pick Monty up and throw him over the fence because this dog was going to go for him. He’s attacked loads of dogs on this estate and he’s even gone for a kid outside the Budgens up the road.
‘I’m just glad it happened to me because it was only a matter of time before it killed a kid.’
Eleven-year-old Monty, who Mr Stearman has had since he was a puppy, suffered bite marks to his head, face, ear and chin and now flinches when anyone tried to touch him.
‘He’s going to be alright but it has affected him. I’m on anti depressants because I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t sleep. It’s been an absolute nightmare,’ Mr Stearman said.
Neighbour Kim McFarland, 54, backed up Mr. Stearman's account, saying that she herself had seen Miss Jenkins letting the American Bulldog run around the estate.
She said: ‘Daisy always used to let the dog off the lead and it would run round the estate. It used to go for other dogs. It never had a muzzle on.
‘One neighbour only just managed to get her dog inside once before he went for it. Even when she closed the door it kept charging at it.’
The grandmother-of-10, who has lived on the estate for 22 years, said the man, was acting in self defence and was ‘devastated’ about what had happened.
She said: ‘He’s a dog lover himself and he’s not the kind of person to go around doing things like that. He was just trying to save his dog who is a lot smaller and older.
‘Daisy had let Tyson off his lead and he ran into the woods and got hold of this other dog by the throat. I don’t even think she was there at the time to stop him.
‘The other dog owner tried to punch Tyson to get him off but he’s a big dog. He went inside to get something and the next thing I heard was a dog’s been stabbed and it’s dead.
‘He literally couldn’t get Tyson off his dog. What was he supposed to do, wait until it killed his dog? It would have been the same circumstances – a dog would still be dead.’
Mr Stearman was arrested over the incident, in which he used three knives, and held for 22 hours but has since been released without charge.
(Telegraph UK - Oct 12, 2012)
