'Traumatic' attack on family's rescue dog leaves pet needing emergency surgery
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Sunderland restaurant manager Brett Walker, 38, says his relatives watched in horror as the family’s cross terrier, Rascal, was mauled by two dogs.
Northumbria Police confirmed they received a report concerning the incident on Friday, March 5, with the rescue dog having to be rushed into surgery in the hours immediately following the attack.
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Hide AdThe incident took place at around 6pm near the Copthorne Hotel, where two other dogs - thought to have been a bulldog and a Staffordshire bull terrier - suddenly ‘went straight for’ Rascal.
“They just went straight for my dog,” he told The Gazette.
"They’ve ripped a whole in my dog’s shoulder. The vet said later on that it looked like the dog had been skinned because all the flesh has come away from the bone.”
Mr Walker, who manages the Sunderland branch of the Miller and Carter steakhouse chain, said at the time of the attack he was at home preparing a meal for his son’s 12th birthday when he received a call from his sister-in-law.
"Once I heard, I stopped all I was doing and rushed to the vets to meet with them and Rascal,” he said.
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Hide AdAccording to Mr Walker, “a member of the public grabbed the dogs after my sister-in-law managed to separate them”.
He said his brother and sister-in-law had traveled to the Quayside with his five-year-old niece to enjoy the mild weather and the noticeable daylight stretch.
"My brother and his wife took the dog out along with their young daughter, because they’re thinking of getting a dog themselves. My niece ran off screaming.
"We’ve had so many messages from people saying how horrific it was.
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Hide Ad"My niece has also been left traumatised and unable to sleep after the whole ordeal. It’s horrible she’s had to witness this – it’s put them right off getting a dog themselves now.
"Luckily, my friend has a vet’s practice in South Shields (Willow’s) and they stayed behind to help. They were brilliant.”
Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Northumbria Police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on the force’s website, or by calling 101 and quoting log 1310 050321.