POLICE are investigating two dog attacks which happened just hours and streets apart in Greater Leys, Oxford — the latest in a string of incidents this year.
One of the victims said she had been left in agony after being attacked by a Rottweiler in a quiet neighbourhood street.
Just 24 hours later, a man was taken to hospital and required surgery after he was bitten on the hand by what police said was either a Staffordshire bull terrier or a pit bull terrier.
On Sunday afternoon, shop assistant Wendy Parker, 56, of Verbena Way, Greater Leys, was set upon by the dog in Primrose Place.
She said: “It just went for me and bit me on my left hip. It was terrifying.
“I have two big puncture wounds in my hip and a lot of teeth marks.
“It’s very painful and I have to go to the doctor every day to have my dressing changed — I can hardly sit down.”
After she was bitten, Mrs Parker, who works at Marks & Spencer in Cowley, was given a tetanus injection and put on a course of antibiotics.
Her husband Russel, 46, a porter at Pembroke College, was with his wife when she was attacked at about 3.30pm.
He said: “As we were walking through Primrose Close we saw a blue car with its boot open and a Rottweiler in the back.
“We thought nothing of it and carried on walking, but the dog suddenly jumped out and was right by us within seconds.
“I shouted to my wife to stand still, but she instinctively turned her back on the dog — it leapt forward and bit her hip.
“My wife was frozen with fear. I had to drag her up the road to get her away from the threat. It was then I noticed she was bleeding.
“People came into the street to see what the commotion was about and I called for an ambulance. When I was on the phone, the owner of the dog came out of his house and said I didn’t need to call for an ambulance or the police.
“When I told him to go away, he threatened to punch me — he was extremely aggressive.”
Mr Parker added: “There was a lot of children in the area and the height of the bite mark could easily have been a child’s head.
“I don’t blame the dog, I blame the owner.
“I don’t want to see the dog put down, but it can’t be allowed to do this to people.”
Police spokesman Vicky Brandon said officers had visited the victim to take a statement and had traced the owner of the Rottweiler. No arrests have yet been made.
Meanwhile, a man needed surgery at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital on Monday night after being bitten on the hand by either a Staffordshire bull terrier or a pit bull terrier. Police said he was attacked by two dogs as he walked his dog in woods off Grenoble Road at about 7pm.
The owner of the dogs tried to assist the injured man, but left the scene without leaving his name or details.
If you can help call police on 0845 8505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 55511 tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk
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