Please keep dogs on a lead in public plea by Fenland couple after distressing attack

A Fenland couple is urging dog owners to keep their pets on a lead around other animals and people after a distressing attack.

The incident left Jenny Ballantyne and her husband Iain traumatised after witnessing a powerful large cross breed launch an attack on their 10-year-old Cavapoo, Petal.

Petal, was being walked by the couple with their other dog, a Lhasa Apso called Oscar, in Hospital Road Doddington on Tuesday February 9, when she was grabbed by the neck and shaken by the large cross breed.

Ian battled to get the large cross breed to release its hold on Petal, but was powerless against the dog which had locked its jaws in a vice-like grip.

As a consequence Petal had to be rushed to the vets with the Ballantynes and their two children, unsure whether she would survive. In the end she spent three nights being cared for by specialist vets in Peterborough and then Cambridge before finally being allowed home on Friday (12). The vets bill is likely to run into thousands of pounds.

Jenny said: "It was touch and go when we first took her to the vets. They put her on very strong painkillers and she was facing a potential operation to repair the damage to her neck, the shaking had torn the skin from her muscle.

"Her ear was also hurt in the attack, which we believe could have been completely avoided if the dog had been on a lead.

"Oscar is not a friendly dog, he's not good around other dogs and so we keep him on the lead and I was so busy trying to keep him away from the large cross breed I wasn't paying much attention to Petal, as she is really friendly.

"The large cross breed was being walked by its owner with another smaller dog and was off its lead. The owner did call it back to them and it went, but then it just came towards us again. At first it started sniffing Oscar, but then it turned its attention to Petal and without any warning just went for her.

"It grabbed her by the neck and was shaking her so violently, and it just kept going, there's no doubt in my mind it wanted to kill her - it stopped when Petal finally went limp.

"I want to be clear this is not about apportioning blame, I have always been naive and assumed that if a dog is off the lead it is friendly, but this has shown that any dog can attack without warning, however friendly it might be.

"If nothing else comes out of this then I want all dog owners to put their pets on a lead when they are around other people and dogs. This would not have happened if the owner had put the dog on the lead when they called it back to them.

"I understand people like their dogs to have a run off the lead, and I don't have a problem with that, but we all need to realise that things can go wrong and you have no control over your dog if it is off the lead.

"It is such a simple thing to do, and it could save another family from going through the trauma we have suffered with Petal. At the end of the day a dog is an animal, and no matter how friendly or placid it is, you can never be 100 per cent sure of how it will react."

Jenny posted about the attack on the local Facebook page and was overwhelmed with the support she received, with many people agreeing that dogs should be on a lead when it is near other dogs and people.

The incident has been reported to police.