A GLASGOW dog owner was left shell-shocked after her pet was grabbed like a “ragdoll” by another dog while out on a walk in an “unprovoked” attack.

Hellen Sharlene Fernie was walking her Jack Russell cross Mitzy along Loretto Street in the city’s East End recently, when she stopped to chat with a fellow dog-walker.

Suddenly, the other dog broke free from its harness and grabbed Mitzy by the neck.

Glasgow Times: Jack Russell cross Mitzy Jack Russell cross Mitzy

Ms Fernie told the Glasgow Times: “The dog had her in its mouth like a ragdoll.

“The dog seemed fine and was not showing any aggression. The girl had her dog on a harness and then without any warning the dog came right out of it and grabbed [Mitzy] from the back.

“She has a huge hole in her neck and back.”

Glasgow Times:

At first Ms Fernie did not want to report the incident, as the stunned stranger was very apologetic, but then her concerns lingered after the attack.

She said: “It wasn’t the girl’s fault. She apologised, but what concerns me is that she told me she had a young child. I am just concerned that the dog could attack another dog or a child.

“She told me she’d only had the dog for a week, so I don’t know if the dog has maybe come from a pretty bad situation and has behavioural problems. But the fact she didn’t know anything about it is concerning.

“I never thought about reporting it, but I hadn’t seen how bad the wounds were till I got up the street.”

Glasgow Times:

Ms Fernie has also noticed more changes in Mitzy’s behaviour in the days since the attack.

“She’s not been the same. She’s been withdrawing and quiet and not been her usual self”, she said.

“She’s normally bounding about the house causing mischief.

“She’s more intimidated venturing out than before. Normally she’d be straight out pulling you to the gate, but now she’s not and I don’t want to push her and put pressure on her wee heart as she’s an old dog.

“I don’t want her to be put down. She’s still part of the family and you don’t want to make that decision.”

Glasgow Times:

After taking a few days to process the ordeal, Ms Fernie has reported the incident to the city’s dog warden service and hopes that the dog can be properly cared for if it has behavioural problems.

She said: “I don’t think it was responsible for someone giving away the dog without thinking of the welfare of the new owner or the child. 

“I don’t want the dog destroyed. If they’ve got behavioural problems then every dog needs to be in the right environment.

“But what worries me is the fact it was unprovoked, and I wouldn’t like to think of it happening again.”

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that we received a report of an alleged dog attack and are looking into the complaint.”