Woman injured in pitbull attack
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A DOG owner is recovering from a vicious attack from a pit bull as she attempted to defend her son’s pet dog.
Helen MacDonald was taking her son Calum’s King Charles spaniel, Brogan, out for an early evening walk on the outskirts of Lybster on Monday when she said the pit bull ran straight towards her and the other dog.
In an attempt to defend Brogan, Mrs MacDonald lifted him up, resulting in her feeling the force of the onslaught. She was knocked onto her back by the pit bull which then started to bite her hands. She was treated by a doctor for injuries to both hands.
The owner of the pit bull managed to take control of the dog before the situation became worse, but Mrs MacDonald said it had by then already caused significant upset and injury.
The 57-year-old carer is now calling on all dog owners to keep their pets on a lead when taking them on a walk.
Speaking at her home at Newton of Swiney, near Lybster, Mrs MacDonald said she was still recovering from the shock of being attacked by the dog.
She said: “I saw it coming, rushing towards Brogan with its mouth open ready to attack and it flattened both of us.
“I tried to protect my dog by lifting him up and the pit bull knocked me on to my back.
“I tried to get the pit bull’s jaws away from my dog as its mouth was open and it managed to bite me on the hands several times.
“If I didn’t put myself in the way of the pit bull, Brogan would have been dead.”
Mrs MacDonald immediately sought medical attention after the incident at 5.10pm on Monday. A doctor treated her mauled hands and bandaged three fingers on her right hand and one on her left.
Thanks to her alert reactions, Brogan escaped unscathed.
Mrs MacDonald said the attack happened only a short distance from her house. After returning home and receiving the medical treatment, she reported it to the police.
She said: “I reported it to the police as my main concern is it could happen to someone else.
“The police said they have no powers to put a dog down as the case would have to go through the court system.”
Mrs MacDonald hopes her injuries will not have too much of an impact on her work and personal life. But she is more concerned to prevent similar future incidents.
“I have never been attacked by a dog before and I’m still in shock about what happened,” she said. “It happened right outside of my house. The pain in my hands has become worse than on the night of the attack, but hopeful they will heal soon.
“I just hope people will see this as a warning and keep their dogs on leads in the future.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “We received a call at 6pm regarding a woman being attacked by a dog in the Lybster area.
“The woman was seen by a GP to be treated for minor injuries and enquiries are ongoing. The dog warden has been informed about the incident.”
