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Paula Bolton, right, and her dog Ben, who were attacked by a bull terrier last week. They are pictured with Paula’s mum Sheila Bolton.
Rogue dog attacks woman and pet
Mark Hesford25/ 7/2008
A VICIOUS attack by a bull terrier left a woman and her pet dog distraught and injured.
Paula Bolton, of New Moston, was walking with her dog Ben last Saturday morning when the pair were attacked by a lone English bull terrier.
"It just lunged at Ben and then turned on me" said Paula. "It threw Ben into the air and bit me on the hand, it was horrific.
"An ambulance took me to hospital and I received a tetanus jab and antibiotics. Ben went to the emergency vet, where he was sedated for shock.
"It makes me sad to see him looking so nervous, I've had him for 15 years."
The violence only came to an end when heroic David Vickerstaff saw the incident while driving by and stopped to help.
"I feel like it's been a nightmare, but David was an absolute hero" said Paula. "Without him, I don't think Ben would have lived."
David, from Oldham, said: "I was just driving down the road and I saw something from the corner of my eye and heard screaming.
"I didn't have time to think - I just leapt out. The terrier had Paula's dog in its mouth; she had no chance.
"I grabbed the tool brace from my car and hit it around the head to get it to let go. Neighbours came out to help and gave me some rope to tie the dog up."
Local resident Lesley Pulman was one of the neighbours who came to help.
She said: "We called the police, who told us to contact the dog warden, but when we rang the warden he was out of the office.
"It's not on, we were left as residents to keep watch over this dog for an hour and a half."
Police contacted the pet medics, who took the terrier away.
A spokesman for the police said the incident occurred around the same time a lone terrier of a similar description attacked a dog on nearby Butterworth Lane, Chadderton.
The owner of the canine victim, who was walking his dog at the time, managed to separate the two dogs. He wasn't injured, but later died of a suspected heart attack.
"Police have launched an investigation to establish how the dog came to be loose and whether there is a link between the two incidents" the spokesman added. "Inquiries are ongoing."
"Incidents involving dangerous dogs or animals are normally dealt with by the pet medics or police officers trained to handle dogs, rather than standard police officers. This is because these officers have the necessary skills to deal with these sorts of situations and can resolve incidents safely.
"In an emergency, people should call 999 and the pet medics will be alerted."
A council spokesman said: "In similar circumstances to this, people can also contact the out of hours animal warden service on 0845 241 7253."
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3/09/2008 at 07:55