Part of ear ripped off and flesh torn from body: Former prison officer bitten more than 100 times trying to save beloved pet dog

Trevor Howard had part of his right ear ripped off and flesh torn from his hands and arms while trying to shield seven-year-old Jess with his own body.

Speaking from his home in Bushbury, the 62-year-old said: "I don't have to close my eyes. I still see the whole thing."

The couple had cared for seven-year-old English springer spaniel Jess since she was an eight-week-old pup.

Sadly on April 10 last year, they were attacked by a trio of dangerous dogs, a bull mastiff and a pair of Dogue de Bordeaux on playing fields in Shelley Road, Oxley. Mr Howard recalled: "We were walking when I heard a sound like the baying of hounds and they came round the corner. The bull mastiff was in attack mode.

I picked Jess up and leaned forward, pressing her between my stomach and thighs, but her rump and head were sticking out.

"The more I bent over her, the more they ripped at me to get to her. I didn't feel the pain. I was just sickened to see the terror in the face of our dog.

"My wife was bitten a couple of times.

Then a passer-by said he would try to find the owner. Three young lads in hoodies came along and pulled the dogs off us.

Mr Howard had been bitten more than 100 times. Part of his right ear was ripped off and he suffered deep wounds to both hands, his right forearm and right elbow.

After six days of treatment costing £1,326, Jess had to be put down.

The 62-year-old's wife Carol, 59, was also bitten as she tried to pull the bull mastiff and pair of Dogue de Bordeaux off her husband and family pet, who later had to be put down because of her injuries.

The couple were walking Tess on playing fields in Shelley Road, Oxley, Wolverhampton, at around 10am on April 10 when the dogs struck after escaping from the nearby back garden of 46-year-old Yvonne Singh through an insecure gate, said Mr Mark Phillips, prosecuting at the city's crown court.

Mr Howard feared the worst when he spotted the trio hurtling towards them, the court was told.

Judge Robin Onions said: "As soon as he saw them coming he knew with absolute certainty what was going to happen. He later said that one of the dogs was in 'attack mode'.

"Then with considerable bravery, he lay himself over his own dog, offering himself as a shield. He was bitten on the arms, hands and body and lost part of an ear. Doctors said he had been bitten more than 100 times."

"It is a sad reflection on the situation that, despite his best efforts, his pet suffered injuries to the body so severe that the dog had to be put down."

Unemployed mother-of-three Singh, who was looking after all three dogs, checked the gate was shut the night before but did not look again before releasing the animals into the back garden and going out on the morning of the attack, said Mr Phillips.

It was suggested that the gate might have been opened by somebody who then stole metal from the garden but it is not known exactly what happened before the attack, which only stopped when another member of Singh's family reached the scene after being alerted to the drama. Jess was put down six days later.

Mr Oliver Woolhouse, defending Singh from Kipling Road, Fordhouses, said: "The dogs came to her over a period of time. She had not deliberately gone out to acquire them. They are powerful but not prohibited animals. Her error of judgment in omitting to check the security of the gate had consequences which she deeply regrets. She did not see the attack herself but never intends to keep a dog again."

She pleaded guilty to being in charge of three dogs that were dangerously out of control when they injured Mr and Mrs Howard and was given a four-month jail sentence suspended for two years. She was also ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work and pay Mr Howard £500 compensation.

Destruction orders were put on the dogs which ran up vast kennel bills while waiting for the case to be resolved and she was banned from keeping a dog for seven years.

Judge Onions told her: "This was not a single bite. The man was ripped and torn. He is a big and powerfully built. Imagine what could have happened if this had been a child walking a dog. You could have been in the dock facing a manslaughter charge."