A MANDURAH couple have described how they thought their dog would die after it was viciously attacked by another dog on Christmas Day.
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Roger and Rose Smith were walking their jack russel Riley along the reserve at the western end of Waterside Drive when a big dog they described as a dark grey mastiff cross, ran up.
“The dog wasn’t on a lead and it charged at us and grabbed our dog in its jaws, shaking her violently,” Mr Smith said.
“My immediate reaction was to jump on top of the big dog and get it in a headlock but it was much too strong.
“It refused to let go and was still trying to crush and shake our dog.
Mr Smith said the dog only let go of Riley after he bit its ear and poked his fingers into the dog’s eyes.
He said the dog’s owners, a man and a woman, then ran up but after Mr Smith insisted they give him their details, he said the man threatened to punch him if he didn’t release the dog.
“I’m not mad at the dog, it was only acting like a dog,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s the fact they threatened me, walked off and left us when our dog was nearly dead.”
Riley suffered injuries to her neck and shoulder, was bleeding heavily, was barely conscious and required immediate surgery.
“As well as the external injuries she had a broken scapula and muscles in that area had to be stitched back together,” Mr Smith said.
Mrs Smith was treated at Peel Health Campus for dog bites to two of her fingers and Mr Smith received cuts and grazes.
"The woman who owned the big dog said it had it never behaved like that before," Mrs Smith said.
“There was a family having a picnic at the time.
“What if a child was attacked by that dog?”
- Rose Smith
“What if a child was attacked by that dog?”
The couple said they were worried about taking her out again in case she was attacked again.
"She's the sort of dog that needs to go to the beach and in the grass - it's just scary because we couldn't do anything about the attack," Mr Smith said.
"We've since had lots of people with small dogs telling us it happened to them."
Mrs Smith said Riley was just starting to get back to normal after she spent four nights at a veterinary hospital.
“I knew she was on the mend when I heard her trying to get the toilet roll off the holder - she loves spreading toilet paper through the whole house," she said.
"Her getting well is all we care about."
