Melvin Meanley passed out after the ferocious encounter in which a dog pounced and left him with two broken ribs, a broken right arm and multiple cuts and bruises.
The 59-year-old spent several days recovering in hospital and his arm injury was so bad he had to have a skin graft operation to repair the damage this week.
He told how he feared he could have bled to death and owes his life to a retired nurse who witnessed the attack and rushed over to bandage his wounds before paramedics arrived.
Following the attack, near his home in Cedar Avenue, Mexborough, Mr Meanley is now urging dog walkers to make sure their pets are on a lead and muzzled. The car park attendant said: “It was terrifying. I blacked out shortly afterwards, I think because of loss of blood and shock.
“I feared I might die. I cannot thank those that helped me enough. I might have been dead had it not been for them.”
The incident happened on Saturday, January 31, at about 2pm when he was out walking his Yorkshire Terrier dog Wilshire.
He said a woman was walking towards him with what he described as a Bulldog - Boxer - Pit Bull mixed breed dog which was not on a lead and came running towards him.
In a panic Mr Meanley threw his beloved dog over a garden wall - fearing it would be mauled - and instead bore the full brunt of the attack.
He said after a few minutes the dog released its grip on his arm and ran off with the owner following it. While he was laying in a pool of blood and drifting in and out of consciousness, a former nurse who lived nearby, ran out of her home and used a towel as a sling to bandage up his wounds.
An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and he spent four nights in Rotherham District General Hospital recovering after having numerous stitches and a pot on his broken arm. He went back on Monday to have skin graft operation to replace skin lost on his arm.
Mr Meanley, who suffers from angina following two heart attacks several years ago, said: “I feel lucky to be alive but I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. People with dogs should always keep them on the lead and in a muzzle.”
His wife, Patricia, 48, added: “They said at the hospital it looks like the dog tried to have him for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desert. His injuries looked horrendous but I’m just glad he’s on the mend now.”
The couple reported the incident to police. The South Yorkshire Times asked the South Yorkshire force about the incident but nobody got back to us in time for our deadline. Contact police with information on the non-emergency 101 number
(Doncaster Today - Feb 13, 2015)
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