John Hulls, 48, from Ingol, Preston, was viciously attacked as he visited the shop on his way home from work.
The incident comes as new figures from Preston Council show more than 1,800 escaped, dumped and suspected out-of-control dogs have been seized by enforcement officers in the city in the past six years.
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| Seized: Cash, a suspected pitbull |
Mr Hulls was attacked by an animal that had been left tied up outside the Nisa convenience store, in Village Green Lane, Ingol, at the door and as Mr Hulls walked in the dog attacked him without being provoked.
He managed to pull away and was left with a number of injuries, but believes the attack would have been much worse if the dog had not been tied up.
Mr Hulls said following the attack, on December 3, concerned customers in the shop asked him if he was all right as blood started to seep through his top.
When he arrived home and saw the actual damage he had to go to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment. He had the puncture wounds from the dogs teeth and severe bruising. He has to have his wounds dressed for a week and take a course of antibiotics.
He said: “ I confronted the dog owner in the shop and he basically said the dog was tied up, so it was not his responsibility. He didn’t even apologise.
“I’m glad action has been taken. If the dog had attacked a child at the height it bit my stomach, it would have been the child’s face or neck. It has made me a bit wary of dogs, I was never a great lover of them anyway.”
The Evening Post joined a team of six officers as they seized a dog from a terraced home on Tag Croft, Ingol. It is believed to belong to a window cleaner who lives at the address with other family members.
Two children watched from the window as the dog was led into a plastic crate and put into a waiting police van. Neighbours came out of their homes to watch and one man gave verbal abuse to police officers.
A short time later the dog’s owner returned home. He will be interviewed by police at a later date.
Two trained dog officers at the scene said the animal needed to be properly examined but the initial indications were that it was a pitbull - a banned breed.
The incident comes as official council figures show that upwards of 200 dogs are expected to be seized by council officers this year.
(lep.co.uk - Dec 27, 2012)
