Last updated on November 30th, 2021 at 12:45 pm

Rebecca’s horrific experience happened when she was walking her pet puggle and west highland terrier along public footpath, Lilly Hall Road in Maltby.  All of a sudden Rebecca saw an old man and a large, unrestrained, English bull terrier coming towards her.  Quite unbelievably the man shouted “the dog is going to fight”, but by this time the bull terrier had reached Rebecca and her dogs.  She had managed to pick up the westie, but not the puggle pup – which the bull terrier savagely attacked.  Everything happened so quickly, and frightened that the mauling was going to kill her pup, Rebecca fought the bull terrier to try to get it off.  As if this ordeal was not enough, the old man was shouting again – “I told you to pick your dogs up as it would fight” – and he hit the bull terrier over the back with his walking stick, which broke in two.

Passers-by came to help and after a 10-15 minute struggle, with the vicious bull terrier simply re-attacking the puggle every time Rebecca had freed it, she eventually managed to free her pup, but not without it suffering badly, in fact Rebecca thought it was dead.  She suffered injuries herself too with puncture wounds, scratches and lacerations to hands, thighs and face.  She was covered in mud and her clothes and bag were damaged.

Rebecca’s stepdaughter, who was with her at the time, called the ambulance and police and Rebecca attended Rotherham Hospital, but she was more worried about her pup, which had been resuscitated by a passer- by and taken to the vet.  The old man and the bull terrier had disappeared by this time but Rebecca knew who it was and reported it to the police.

Rebecca’s dog survived – but with extensive vet fees of course, and she was badly injured and shaken by the incident.  She has suffered significant psychological injuries and carpel syndrome as a result of the struggle with such a strong and vicious dog.  Graysons specialises in animal accidents and we took up Rebecca’s case, winning substantial compensation for her, which we settled without having to go to court.

Our experts say:

“The English bull terrier is one of the dogs considered dangerous in the Animal’s Act 1971 and the owner was strictly liable for the damage it did.  The owner was already aware that the dog had acted in a dangerous way previously; he didn’t restrain it or try in any way to prevent it from causing the accident.  The dog has now been destroyed. Around 6000 people are injured through dog attacks ever year, but many people are not aware that they have the right to make a claim against an owner if their animal causes an accident or injury.  Indeed they are, in fact the recent amendment to the Dangerous Dogs Act now makes criminal prosecution possible for those whose dogs display aggressive or threatening behaviour on private property, as well as in public – including their own home.”

Claims against the owners are usually complicated, but often successful if handled by a lawyer who understands this complex area of law, so if you have been a victim of an injury caused by an animal and you want to discuss it with someone who can tell you whether you might have a successful claim for compensation, please contact our experts now and we will discuss the matter with you, free of charge for the first meeting, and let you know what your best next steps should be.

Read what Sheffield Star has to say by clicking here

Find out more about how we can help you if you have been injured by an animal by reading our web pages.