Milton Keynes woman savaged by dog takes legal action against owner

Lisa Jones, 28, was walking her Shih-poo when she heard something running towards her before a Rottweiler and a Staffordshire bull terrier appeared at her feet. She instinctively picked up her small dog and tried to walk away, but the Rottweiler launched itself at her, sinking its teeth into her arm right to the bone.

As Lisa screamed out in pain, she tried to pull away and fell to floor with the vicious dog on her back.

The mum of one said: “I was screaming out for somebody to help me while trying to get my dog to run away, but she just barked in a bid to protect me. This massive Rottweiler that had got a taste of me was on my back pinning me down. I didn’t feel any pain at that point as I was just in shock, but when nobody came I started to feel terrified.

“I honestly thought nobody was coming while I was lying on my front in a farmer’s field with this dog that had taken a chunk out of my arm on my back. Suddenly this teenage girl turned up and the first thing she said was’ don’t worry, he won’t hurt you’ I screamed that he had already bitten me and to get him off.”

An owner of a house that backed onto the field in Grendon, Northants, came out with a shovel and forced the dog off of Lisa’s back.

Lisa added: “It only dawned on me then, as I was standing there with a lump of my own flesh in my hand, what could have happened to me if nobody had come. It was terrifying and I have suffered nightmares since.”

Lisa had to undergo an operation on her arm after the attack in September 2014 and was so scared that she did not leave the house for days. She reported the incident to the police and she claims officers told her that the dog was destroyed. But two months after the savage attack she saw the dog in a back garden.

“I was completely shocked,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. When I was told it had been destroyed I thought I could walk around relaxed again, knowing it wasn’t out there. I used to love all types of dogs but now I’m scared of bigger ones.

“A few months after that I was walking my dog in the same place and I saw the Rottweiler coming towards me. This time a man was walking it and I said ‘that dog should be put down’ and he just walked off.

“This has affected me terribly and left me not wanting to go out. It got so bad that we moved out of the village altogether. I still get pain from the scarring.”

In an unusual move Lisa is taking legal action against the owner of the dog for the personal injury she suffered, both physically and mentally.

Andrew Zajac, a personal injury specialist lawyer from Slater and Gordon, who represent Lisa, said: “People who own large and potentially dangerous dogs have a duty to keep those animals under control and not allow them to attack.

“Lisa suffered a traumatic assault that left her with physical and mental scars. It affected her so badly that she had to move home. Now we are looking for witnesses or anyone who may have information about the dog to contact us.”