UNITED KINGDOM -- A Banks resident has spoken of his horror after his pet poodle Peaches was dragged down the street by a Staffordshire bull terrier.
Harold Holt was walking his dog in Southport when the terrier locked Peaches in its jaws and ran off with the pet in its mouth.
Mr Holt, who was knocked off his feet by the terrier, then gave chase.
The terrier’s owner then appeared and ran off with his pet, who by now had dropped Peaches, before Mr Holt could confront him.
The attack took place near Southport’s Marine Lake, and left Peaches with puncture wounds to her stomach.
Mr Holt picked up his injured dog in his arms and raced to the vets where Peaches was attached to a drip.
Although Peaches survived the attack she is now withdrawn and nervous.
Mr Holt, who broke down in tears when telling the Advertiser of the attack, said: “It was an absolute nightmare.
“The Staffie was not on a lead, and the owner did not apologise to me.
“During the summer, young mums take their children to Marine Lake. This animal would have killed a child.
“A photographer appeared and snapped the owner as he was running off. He tried to hide his face. I reported the attack to the police but they said that they did not investigate dog on dog attacks. I then contacted the dog warden for Southport.
“I want the owner of the Staffie to pay the vets bills, which came to over £100.”
A spokesman for Sefton Council said: "This unpleasant incident has been reported and our dog warden has since made enquiries in the area. Unfortunately the description is fairly vague and have not been able to track down the owner.
“ It is a criminal offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place and we will always prosecute where we have the necessary evidence.”
(Southport Visiter - Dec 20, 2012)
