Westbury Police are appealing for witnesses, or indeed the suspect to come forward, in relation to a dog bite to a 68 year old female.
This incident occurred on Silbury Close in Westbury, which happened between the hours of 8.00am and 10.00am on Monday 26th January.
Mrs. Jenkins was walking along Silbury Close when an elderly female walking her dog was coming up the same road. Mrs. Jenkins stopped momentarily and said to the lady, “What a beautiful day for a dog walk.” The lady then said to Mrs. Jenkins that the dog might jump, but because Mrs. Jenkins is a dog lover, she wasn’t too concerned about this.
However, the dog did jump up to Mrs. Jenkins and as he did so, the owner remarked, “He’ll Bite You!” At this moment, the dog bit hard into Mrs. Jenkins’s right hand, ripping away her skin and exposing her flesh. This caused Mrs. Jenkins to sustain a nasty injury to her hand which was approximately two inches by two inches and had caused her flesh to be ripped away, leaving two teeth marks in the process.
Mrs. Jenkins went to Trowbridge Community Hospital and after examining her injury, referred her to the plastic surgeon at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
Mrs. Jenkins has seen the plastic surgeon twice and she may require a skin graft. The wound needs dressing twice a week as her gash leaks often. This is greatly affecting Mrs. Jenkins as she is right handed and is struggling to do anything. Her husband even has to cut her dinner up for her because her right arm is placed in a sling.
PC Gavin Hucks and RSPCA inspector Miranda Albinson visited Mrs. Jenkins and were taken aback that nobody has come forward to apologise or report this incident themselves.
Gavin said, “It still surprises me that in this day and age, with the dangers that some dogs can pose to people, especially in this scenario, but most alarmingly no-one has come forward to the police as of yet. Mrs. Jenkins now has a nasty gash to her right hand and it is clearly affecting her day to day life.
“Please could the owner of the dog come forward so that we can ensure that all safety measures can be put in place. I acknowledge that the owner had the dog on a lead, but this dog was still out of control.”
Miranda expressed her wish to reiterate and said, “After speaking with Mrs. Jenkins, she is clearly a dog lover herself, and she has clear understanding that dogs can be temperamental on occasions, but one must appreciate that if the dog is out of control, such on this occasion, and it has caused a nasty injury to a person, then measures need to be put in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, such as the appropriate use of a muzzle or indeed seek advice from a qualified dog trainer. The local police and I will work in partnership and strive to prevent these incidents from occurring.”
The owner of the dog is described as female, in her 70s, about five foot tall, small build. The dog is described as being a Jack Russell Cross, tan coloured with a white chest and looks to be about four years old.
The owner of the dog has since been seen in Thornbury Road, Westbury, and when Mrs. Jenkins approached the owner of the dog, the owner has refused to apologise and has refused to give her details.
If anyone has further information or may have witnessed the incident, please either contact PC Gavin Hucks at Westbury Police Station or any of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, or call Wiltshire Police on 101, or email westburynpt@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk
Or if you want to talk to anyone in confidence please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The Criminal Investigation into this matter relates to reference 54150013235.
