THE Big Issue has banned a homeless man from selling the magazine when his dog is with him after the animal attacked a pet Jack Russell in Oxford’s Cowley Road.

Ed Chipperfield’s eight-year-old dog Sailor was bitten on the neck and pulled to the ground by a Dalmatian belonging to a homeless man as they were walking past the Tesco Metro shop.

Mr Chipperfield, 34, from East Oxford, who was going to shop at Boots with his pregnant wife, Anna, had to pull the Dalmatian off their dog.

Now the Big Issue vendor, known only as Tony, has been told not to sell the magazine when he has the Dalmatian with him.

The magazine’s sales support worker in Oxford, Simon Smith, said: “He has been banned from going outside the front of Tesco with the dog.

“He can sell without the dog but we don’t want the dog there, obviously.

“Quite a lot of guys have dogs as companions. This was an isolated incident but we can’t have that.”

Mr Smith said Tony had not returned to pick up his Big Issue seller’s badge at the start of this month and he had not heard from him.

The Chipperfields’ dog was attacked on Tuesday, April 20.

He said: “As we passed in front of Tesco, this dog just started barking and growling. It chased us 25 yards down the road and clamped its teeth on our dog’s neck and pulled our dog down.

“It didn’t draw blood but the dog also barged past my wife, who is five months’ pregnant, so the incident could have been a lot more serious.

“What if it had been an old lady walking their dog or a small child? Who knows what sets this dog off and what it could do.

“My wife was really distressed, she was in tears over what had happened.

“I was really frightened. I didn’t know whether this thing was going to push my wife over or attack me or my wife.”

When the Oxford Mail tried to get in touch Tony, a Tesco employee, who declined to be named, said: “He seems a really nice guy and his dog’s very calm usually.

“We haven’t seen him in about a week though and everyone’s quite worried about him.”

Thames Valley Police spokes-man Christopher Kearney said: “We have identified the owner of the dog and the dog itself.

“We have spoken to the man and told him that in no uncertain terms the dog needs to be kept on a lead at all times and warned him if there are any further incidents, there’s the possibility that the dog will be seized and destroyed.

“Anyone who allows their dog to be out of control in a public place can face prosecution.

“Thankfully in this case Mr Chipperfield’s dog wasn’t badly injured but we thank him for bringing this to our attention.”

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk