A traumatic morning.

[Candy]

Joy and I set off for the moor thismorning and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day, which it is, weather-wise, but we hadn't got very far when we saw a man and his dog who I notice quite frequently, dog looks like a fighting type and is never on lead,so whenever I see them we turn around and go the other way while he shouts 'He's alright love!' Well today there was no time to turn around and he very much wasn't alright. Joy was walking nicely on lead, not a peep from her, don't think she'd even seen him, when with no warning whatsoever he flew at her, knocked her down and tore into her. I was yelling at him to get his dog off, which he did, then kicked it thoroughly, but in that short space of time he had torn a hole in her side. Poor little Joy was absolutely terrified, screaming to start with then trembling and crying. There were three men working on some scaffolding who came to help. One of them shouted after the retreating dog owner 'Your dog's caused an injury here, you need to come back and take some responsibility '. When he didn't two of them gave chase, while the other checked that I was OK and rang the police. I rang the vet from my mobile and was told to take her straight there. She has a hole in her side about the size of a 50p piece and has had to stay in for surgery, but they have reassured me that she should be fine.
To be continued later, it's time to ring and see how she is.

 

[Sophiedoodle]

Oh how awful! I’m sorry you and GGJ had to go through that
Fingers crossed all goes well with the surgery and she is back to her normal self as soon as possible!
Sending lots of love and Lambies

 

[Lisa]

Oh no! Poor Joy and poor you! It’s so terrifying to see your dog get attacked like that. Hope she’s ok.

 

[Cath]

OMG @Candy poor you and poor lovely Joy. Hope she will be alright

 

[M.F.]

Oh @Candy, that is just horrific. I’m sorry this happened to GGJ and you. Sending much love to you and Joy. She might be very stiff and sore after this. The poor sweetheart.

^%% those people who take no precautions for their dogs’ behaviour and are in denial. I’ve had two incidents this week and have taken to walking with a big stick, which upsets me that I feel the need.

 

[kateincornwall]

Oh Candy, how absolutely terrible , I am so sad and sorry to read about this , its shocking that dogs with this potential can be out, let alone off lead . Big hugs for you and fingers crossed for your darling girl xxxxx

 

[Charlie]

Good grief, poor Joy and poor you, you must be shaken up. Did the Police arrive to take a statement? I know lots of people that now walk with sticks in case of this behaviour. Thinking of you and lovely GGJ. xxx

 

[HAH]

Oh my goodness @Candy , how horribly traumatic. I hope you have good news from the vet shortly, and poor little Joy is home and recuperating soon. What a hideous thing to happen to you both. How are you feeling now?

 

[SwampDonkey]

I so sorry Candy. I hope she's ok she's such a darling. I just can't put it into words just so upset for you. I wish I could do something XXX

 

[JES72]

That's horrible.
I'm sure after the scaffolders had finished with his he'd learn his lesson! You certainly don't mess around with scaffolders. I'm glad they were there to help you.

 

[Candy]

Just rang the vet and she's fine but frightened, poor little girl. I can collect her any time after 3pm. My friend Fiona has kindly volunteered to give us a lift home, she's just finished walking her afternoon dogs, so will drop them off, take her two home, grab a bite to eat then ring me when she's nearly at the vet.
As a result of the scaffolding men ringing 999 the police have been in touch to ask if I want to make a statement. I have said that I do, because I know this man lives somewhere very near, I see him and his dog several times a week and I'm frightened of it happening again, or to anyone else, or a child.
The police are going to ring me back later to take my statement.
The scaffolding men it seems have been most helpful. One of them apparently asked the police what they were going to do to make sure that it didn't happen again, the police officer replied that it would be difficult without knowing who the man was , the scaffolding man pointed to the pub opposite and said 'There's at least five CCTV cameras up there, one of them must have caught it!' ( It was actually the police officer who told me this) So with any luck they might be able to do something, otherwise I'm going to be worried every time I take Joy out. I also worry about how this will affect her confidence and behaviour around other dogs. The poor little girl is so gentle and cautious anyway. Still, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime I need to get her home for cuddles.
At least it's Friday so we can have wine and a Kong.

 

[Boogie]

Oh Candy, that’s just terrible. It brought back memories of when just the same thing happened to Keir.

 

[Naya]

I am so sorry this has happened to you and GGJ. I know exactly how you are feeling as happened to Harley twice now and she needed stitches 🥲. I hope the scaffolders did catch up to him. I can’t believe he thinks his dog is ‘fine’ . I really hope that Joy is ok. Some walks with dogs she is confident with might help. Big hugs to you both.

 

[Natalie]

Oh candy, this is the stuff of nightmares. Poor little Joy. I’m so glad you had people around to help you xx

 

[Cath]

The scaffolding men it seems have been most helpful. One of them apparently asked the police what they were going to do to make sure that it didn't happen again, the police officer replied that it would be difficult without knowing who the man was , the scaffolding man pointed to the pub opposite and said 'There's at least five CCTV cameras up there, one of them must have caught it!'

What Heroes, Thank heaven for them. I hope the Police get that terrible man and his dog. It makes me so angry

 

[snowbunny]

Oh, poor, sweet GGJ. That's horrible for all of you.

The only slight ray of sunshine in the story is what good eggs the scaffold men were, coming to your aid. I think they may deserve a box of biscuits.

 

[Emily]

Oh Candy I'm so so sorry for you and GGJ. How awful for you both. I hope you have her home safely soon xxx

 

[MellowYellow]

Oh no this is awful, I am sorry! The same thing happened to poor Poppy several years ago, surrounded by four big dogs and one of them took a chunk out of her side. She was fine, although she is still nervous around big brown dogs (ridgebacks, vislas... etc), but I was surprised how nervous I became of unknown big dogs for a while. I was really frightened that one would attack her for no reason, and of course my nervousness translated to her and to the other dogs... I think it was someone on here (maybe Emily? @Emily_Babbelhund ) who told me I was going to have to get over it as I was just making the situation worse...

Sending healing vibes to Joy, and don't worry she will be fine. You must be seething though!!!!!

 

[Atemas]

What a horrible thing to happen. Massive s for you both. I’m so glad people helped you and the police are involved. Poor Joy and poor you - you must be so angry.

 

[Ashley]

This is terrible and our biggest fear when out walking. I can't believe the man was trying to say his dog is alright!!! What an idiot. I would also go through with the report to the police. Something similar happened to a lovely elderly black lab in my old neighbourhood, in front of the fire station and the fire people saw what happened and brought the lab to to vet for her elderly owner. It's always nice to have help in these scary situations - I hope Joy is ok.