Dog left needing 26 stitches after vicious Wolverhampton attack

Owner John Potter, who was also hurt, was left with a vet’s bill totalling almost £2,500.

The 73-year-old was walking his King Charles spaniel Ollie on Valley Park nature trail near his home in Finchfield, Wolverhampton, when he was knocked to the ground by two dogs, both on leads, being walked by a couple heading in the opposite direction.

Mr Potter’s wife Wendy said the animals, one wearing a muzzle, then set about Ollie.

The other couple, who had their pets on short leads, managed to pull them away but the dogs continued to strain against the leash and jumped on Mr Potter, knocking him to the ground a second time, and launching another attack on the spaniel.

The Potters’ beloved pet underwent emergency surgery, needing 26 stitches to large gashes around his back and belly.

“At first we didn’t think he had been hurt but when the vet shaved him, there were at least five really bad dog bites,” said Mrs Potter.

“The operation lasted four and a quarter hours.

“We had a call from the vet’s at 11pm that night saying they’d just finished the surgery on Ollie.

“She said they’d found a 22cm hole in Ollie’s abdominal wall and if he hadn’t been so big, he would have died.

“Their owner had absolutely no control over them.

“My husband could have had a heart attack, or it could have happened to a young kid."

Ollie, aged five, is due to have his stitches removed this week following the attack on May 19.

The couple’s veterinary bill has so far reached £2,410.