A 3-year-old American pitbull terrier was on the brink of death last night following a vicious attack by a pack of around eight, mainly female dog walkers, in a park in East London. The walkers had broken free from their canine charges before forming into what was described by an onlooker as ‘a feral, out-of-control pack.’
The dog concerned, Brutus, believed to be from a home in Whitechapel, had stopped beside the lake in Victoria Park in Bow for a lie-down in the sunshine when the dog walker pack set upon the defenceless creature, causing horrendous injuries which required surgical treatment at a local veterinary practice.
A young woman who witnessed the brutal attack told us: ‘They were crazed with bloodlust. They repeatedly punched and kicked the poor dog and only stopped after a couple of young men bravely stepped in and started dragging them off one by one, despite the fact that the walkers were snapping at them with bared teeth and whipping them repeatedly with their extendable dog leads’
A Home Office spokesman described the attack as ‘regrettable and unacceptable’ and gave assurances that legislation will be toughened and stricter controls introduced via the existing Dangerous Dog Walkers Act. A Kennel Club spokesman went further and called for any walkers spotted in public without a dog to be ensnared prior to being humanely destroyed.
However, Hermione Dell, from The British Dog Walker Society, hit back last night in defence of her members. '99 percent of walkers are harmless, affectionate individuals who do not pose a threat to the general public.
'Sadly a few irresponsible owners keep a dog walker as a macho status symbol and actively train them to be aggressive and even stage illegal fights where large sums are placed on the outcome.
'I have owned and bred many walkers down the years and have been more than happy to let my small children ride on their backs in the back garden with only a handful of relatively minor injuries suffered. It's not the walkers it's the owners that need to be brought to book, in my view'
This latest incident comes two weeks after a 4-year-old American XL Bully suffered life-changing injuries following an attack in the street by a dog walker who had slipped her leash in Poplar, East London.