Vicious dog nearly killed my cocker spaniel, says OAP

[dutchman]

A Coventry pensioner has told of the devastating effect of a vicious dog attack on her beloved cocker spaniel, Milly.



Heather Fountain, 76, has been left unable to sleep and suffering from regular nose bleeds after the attack in which a Staffordshire bull terrier clamped on to Milly’s neck.

The traumatic ordeal happened when Heather – who lives alone with pet Milly – was out walking on grassland next to St Christopher Primary School in Whoberley last Wednesday.

She said the attack was unprovoked, and stopped only after Good Samaritans intervened.

Ten-year-old Milly has been left struggling to get about after suffering a torn ear and deep bite wounds to her neck and legs.

“I’m still trembling now just thinking about it,” Heather, of nearby Overdale Road, said.

“I put Milly on the lead as we went over the bridge leaving the field.

“This man was walking towards us with two dogs off their leads.

“As soon as one of the dogs saw Milly, it just went for her.

“It pinned her to the ground and wouldn’t let her go and was biting her neck. I was just screaming for help.

“He didn’t even call the dog off her, he just walked off.

“An elderly man came out of his house and hit the dog with a broom.

“The broom snapped and didn’t affect it one bit. Then a younger man came out and hit the dog with a plank of wood to make it let go.

“Then he screamed at me to just go. That dog would have killed Milly if they hadn’t intervened.”

A neighbour drove the shaken pensioner and the injured dog to the vets and stayed with her while they operated on Milly to save her life.

Heather said she called police that day but was told there was nothing they could do as no person had been injured in the attack.

The retired nurse is now struggling to come to terms with what happened to her beloved companion.

“I’m up all night with Milly and have to make sure she’s alright because of her age,” she said.

“I need to be able to let her out if she needs the toilet. Normally she would come upstairs to tell me but she can’t now.

“I thought it was going to kill Milly – that dog is my only companion.”

West Midlands Police insist criminal prosecutions can be made for dog-on-dog attacks, but only if a person “felt threatened or in danger”.

Inspector Jo Floyd, responsible for neighbourhood policing in the city, said: “It is not clear in this case exactly what happened.

“Our local neighbourhood team will try to contact the dog’s owner to advise on the best course of action.”

[dutchman]

Dog attack leaves Coventry pensioner afraid to walk her pet



A PENSIONER whose pet spaniel was viciously attacked by another dog has spoken of her frustration after a court case against the owner was dropped.

Heather Fountain, 76, says she is too afraid to walk her dog Milly during the day since the attack.

Heather was walking on grassland next to St Christopher Primary School in March when a Staffordshire bull terrier clamped its jaws onto the spaniel’s neck.

The attack left the ten-year-old dog with a torn ear and deep bite wounds to her neck and legs.

The unprovoked attack was only stopped when neighbours heard Heather screaming. Two men ran out and hit the dog with sticks.

The case against the Staffordshire bull terrier’s owner went before Coventry Magistrates Court on June 12 but has now been stopped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Heather, of Overdale Road, Whoberley, says this was because the dog did not attack her.

When the Telegraph reported the original story of the attack in March, West Midlands Police insisted prosecutions could be made for dog-on-dog attacks – if a person “felt threatened or in danger”.

Heather said: “They had a confession, they had interviewed witnesses who had come to my rescue. But in the end it was decided that it didn’t come under the Dangerous Dogs Act. The owner had the dog off the lead and had no control over it. He didn’t even try to control it, he just walked off and left me with it.

“The area used to be really well used by dog walkers but you rarely ever see anyone down there anymore.”

Heather is now afraid to walk her dog when there may be other people around and says she has been left isolated.

“I used to take her out three times-a-day but now I only take her out once early in the morning when there’s no one else around,” she said.

Coun Dan Howells (Whoberley, Lab) said: “It seems like a real injustice that Heather has had to go through such emotional turmoil and financial cost for something that could have been so easily avoided.”

The Crown Prosecution Service was unavailable to comment.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “We will always follow up allegations where crimes are committed.

“Ultimately we must present the evidence we have to the CPS who will then decide whether to pursue charges.”