Barry Craig, 67, of Diana Close, Alverstoke was walking his five-month-old pedigree puppy at Queens Parade shops, off Privett Road, when another dog, which he believes was a Staffordshire bull terrier cross, attacked.
Mr Craig was on his way to buy a newspaper with his Lhasa Apso puppy, Alfie, at 10.45am last Wednesday when the dog attacked, leaving the dog needing emergency surgery.
Mr Craig suffered bruising to his knees and cuts to his hands after trying to open the larger dog’s mouth.
He said: ‘I saw the other dog on a lead and naturally as my dog got close to it he looked at him.
‘Without any warning the dog just pounced on him.
‘He had him in his mouth and of course I had my dog on a lead, trying to get him away from the dog but he had such a grip on him I had to go on to the floor.
‘I was on the floor with my dog and had my hand inside the dog’s mouth trying to release my dog from his grip; it was quite horrendous.
‘I was on the floor for a good five minutes.’
Staff from the nearby hairdressers and Lloyds Pharmacy on Queens Parade quickly came to Mr Craig’s aid after they saw him on the floor.
Trudy Sutcliffe, a dispenser at the pharmacy, heard the commotion.
She said: ‘I heard an awful lot of noise to start off with and we went out there and the old man was on the floor.
‘The other dog had the little dog and there was another lady trying to get the dog off of him. It was pretty awful.’
After the dogs were separated the supervisor at the pharmacy quickly wrapped Mr Craig’s puppy in a blanket and took it to the vets.
Police were called at 11.10am and spoke to both owners before taking Mr Craig to the minor injuries unit at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.
A police spokesperson said that as the other dog was on a lead, no further action will be taken by police.
Mr Craig is unhappy that the other owner could do little to stop the attack.
He said: ‘What’s the point of having a dog on a lead if you can’t control it?’
(portsmouth.co.uk - Nov 7, 2012)
