Jack the dog dies after being mauled in the street
A DOG-owning couple were left distraught after it was fatally mauled by a rescued lurcher in a horrific street attack.
Wendy Cummings of Barton, who suffered bites to her hands and a suspected broken finger from the incident in Sea Road last Friday morning, is still shaken and grieving for Jack, the little Bichon poodle-cross she and her husband John (both 70) had owned for eight years.
She told the A&T: “He was on a lead as we walked along Sea Road and this dog came from nowhere and went straight for Jack. It was too awful to describe what happened.
“I pulled Jack away from him once and put him on a gatepost about 4ft high but this dog just pulled him off and carried on.”
Wendy said numerous passers-by came to their aid, notably Forest Oak builder Ray Whitlock who was working nearby.
“He had to virtually throttle the dog to release my dog and then it ran off,” said Wendy. “Apparently it then attacked another Bichon down the road.”
She went on: “My message to owners and rescue organisations is that if you have a dog or one that has been placed by a rescue organisation it should be kept securely, under proper control, and if it seems at all ‘iffy’ it should be muzzled.
“If any good comes of this it is that it makes people think.”
She said of Jack: “He was in the advanced class at Kate Hurcombe’s training and in all the demonstrations.
“He was a really gutsy little clown of a dog, so lovable and funny, he had everyone in stitches at classes.”
A couple living close to the scene brought out towels to tend Wendy and Jack.
The police were alerted and Wendy took Jack to the Forest Oak vets. She then went to Lymington hospital where her hands were dressed and X-rayed.
Jack was sedated and operated on but on Sunday, after Wendy had visited him, she heard that he had “lost his little fight”.
A police report said that the owner of the attacking dog, a rescue dog, had had it put down on Friday night and said they would pay the vets’ bill for both the dogs it attacked.
