Bethesda woman and dog injured after 'pack' of dogs attack

A woman says she and her dog were left badly injured and traumatised following an attack by three other dogs.

Tamsin Speight, from Bethesda, Gwynedd, was with her husband on a coastal path on Saturday when the animals ran at their pet jackapoo Roker.

She said she wanted to warn other dog owners as she feared the three dogs could attack again.

North Wales Police has launched an investigation into the incident.

Warning: this article contains graphic images of injuries

Ms Speight said she was walking the coastal path in Gwynedd between Treborth and Felinheli when the three dogs, which she described as Staffordshire bull terriers, launched an attack on Roker.

"We threw ourselves on top of our dog to try and protect him and they were just mauling him," Ms Speight recalled.

"It just seemed to go on for ages, we thought they were going to kill him."

Ms Speight said the dogs were being walked by a man and a woman, who did not appear to be in control of them.

She said she ran from the scene with Roker in her hands before calling the police.

"There was blood everywhere. He was howling. I had quite bad injuries on my arm and my thumb," she said.

Describing the three dogs as "a pack", she added: "It was horrendous... I was really scared that we were going to pass them again."

Ms Speight said she was sharing her story to warn other dog owners in the area, as she feared the three animals could attack again.

"My husband had to help the man, he had to kick one of them to get it to submit, and then go down and put the collar on this crazy dog. He could have got attacked," she said.

"They didn't even have a lead for one of them," she added.

Ms Speight went to A&E and was given antibiotics. She said she had a number of open wounds which could not be stitched due to the high risk of infection from the bites.

She described Roker as "a mess", with 4in (10cm) stitches on his body and some around his neck too.

"He's not himself. He's sitting on the sofa, he won't move," she said, describing him as "traumatised".

North Wales Police said it had received a call on Saturday at 13:25 BST to report an incident involving four dogs on the coastal path near Treborth, which resulted in a woman and a dog receiving injuries.

"Officer enquiries are ongoing, and we would ask anyone who witnessed the incident to contact us," the force said.