A WESTBURY family’s Jack Russell dog, which was mauled by two Mastiff dogs on Saturday 29th January, has died of its injuries.
Toby, a nine-year-old Jack Russell, was out on a walk with his owners before being attacked and killed by the two mastiffs in the Leigh Park area. The dogs, witnesses say, had escaped from a nearby a garden.
Wiltshire Police dog wardens have confirmed that the two Mastiffs have been put to sleep following the incident and they have spoken to the owner and given advice to secure the garden – no arrests have been made.
Toby’s owner has spoken of the shock of what happened to him, saying, “It could have been anybody, we were just the unlucky ones. Toby was such a sweet boy. He was going to be ten this year and was such a friendly boy. It just came out the blue. We were clearly just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“People were so good – I left my phone number on the letter posted to the tree where Toby died and we’ve had such an outpouring of love from strangers. It really helped – big time.”
Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for public protection said, “We were very sorry to hear about this tragic dog attack, and send our condolences to the owners. The attack was reported to us by multiple people and we would always encourage anyone, particularly the owners, to report dog attacks to us directly.
“In the event your dog is attacked, please try and get as many details of the owners of the other dog and report this directly to our Dog Warden Service. Where a person is attacked, this is dealt with by the police and should be reported to them. We work closely with the police and will often carry out a joint visit following a dog attack.
“We have spoken to the owner of the two other dogs involved in this attack and will be following this up with a visit next week. We are aware that the police have also visited the owner of the dogs that carried out the attack.
“This incident also serves as an important reminder to dog owners that all dogs in a public place must be kept under control and wear a collar, tag and be microchipped.”
A statement by Wiltshire Police reads, “We are aware of local community concern regarding an incident in Westbury over the weekend.
“We can confirm that we have received a report of a Jack Russell dog being attacked by another dog in the Leigh Park area. The injured dog sadly died as a result of the incident, which happened on Saturday afternoon (29/01).
“We will carry out enquiries and would ask anyone with information to call us on 101, quoting reference 54220010227.”
