People in Hotwells have told of their shock following a vicious dog mauling which left one dog dead and its owner distraught. Police were called to Clifton Vale earlier this afternoon after a resident out walking their chihuahua saw their beloved pet “dragged around” by a large dog roaming free.
Officers from Avon and Somerset Constabulary have confirmed that the larger dog in question, which was not on a lead at the time, had now been taken away to a kennel pending further inquiries and its owner has also been interviewed. A neighbour who witnessed the incident said the attack was over in a couple of minutes and there was nothing the owner of the chihuahua could do.
He said: “I was in my flat when I heard some shouting and barking. I went outside and I saw this large dog grab this little chihuahua. The little dog was being dragged about. The owner tried to separate the two dogs and tried to pull on the lead and take his dog out of the large dog’s reach but the large dog pulled on the dog and carried on attacking it.”
The resident added: “I went to speak to the owner of the chihuahua and they were very distraught. They were in shock. He said to me it was his fault and he should have walked round the back rather than out the front. But I told him it’s certainly not his fault but the fault of the other owner for not having his dog on a lead.”
Police have not named the large dog’s breed but have confirmed it was not an XL Bully. The eyewitness said the incident had been ‘distressing in the extreme, and has shaken our close-knit community’.
He said: “It is normally a lovely community here. We have young children in the street. It was lucky it wasn’t a toddler’s face.”
Another resident in Hillsborough flats also witnessed the attack. She said: “Today sadly we witnessed his dog kill a little chihuahua in front of several neighbours.
“We are all traumatised by this experience. We have lots of children in the neighbourhood and small dogs belonging to the families. We knew something like this was going to happen and now it has. Next time it could be a child.”