A couple are warning dog owners to be on the alert after their Shi Tzu was savaged in an attack by another dog near Horspath.

Tommy, a 15-year-old Shi Tzu cross, had to have more than £700 of vet's treatment after another dog bit him on land near the village's sports field, off Oxford Road, earlier this month.

His owners, who are too worried about possible retaliation to be named, were out walking Tommy on his lead when the other dog "came out of nowhere", grabbed Tommy by his side and started "shaking him like a leaf".

One of the owners said: "I didn't know what to do. I knelt down and tried to ungrip its jaws from around Tommy, but it bit me on the thumb.

"The owner came running down from the hill about three or four minutes later and he pulled his dog away, ripping Tommy's skin off and leaving this wound, which must have been about 4in by 3in.

"Because Tommy's white, he looked absolutely covered in blood. It was like a shark attack."

The couple, from Cowley, who believed the other dog to be a Staffordshire bull terrier or a pitbull, took the owner's name and phone number, but the details were false.

Tommy, underwent an operation on his wounds on Wednesday and is now on the mend.

The owner added: "It's been so traumatic for him and for us. It was dreadful.

"I've never ever seen a dog attack like that and I never want to see it again.

"The only thing I'm scared of now is that some poor old person will go up that field with a little Yorkshire terrier or even a grandchild and it will happen again."

RSPCA spokesman Sophie Wilkinson said: "What we'd say to all dog owners is they must keep their dogs under control in public, whether that's keeping them on the lead or in another way.

"If dogs have been found to have attacked other dogs before, we can prosecute, so we would encourage people to contact us and report incidents."

She said the charity was in the process of prosecuting a dog owner in Milton Keynes. after his animal attacked another pet, using evidence gathered after a public appeal for information.

If you or your dog have been attacked by a dog, or you have seen an attack, call the RSPCA hotline on 0870 555 5999.