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Bournemouth teenager saves pet from savage attack

7:00pm Monday 6th July 2009 in


A tiny Yorkshire terrier was savaged by a Great Dane during a walk on Queens Park golf course.

Owner Clare Shadwick watched in horror as little Penny was picked up and shaken by the huge dog.

But her quick-thinking daughter, 13-year-old Lily, jumped between the animals and managed to grab 16-year-old Penny before she was killed.

Now Clare has appealed for help in tracing the owner of the Great Dane before another animal is harmed.

Penny suffered horrific internal injuries and cuts but is now on the mend after spending two days in an animal hospital.

The matter is under investigation by Bournemouth council’s dog warden.

“Penny had to have an operation and the vet said she is lucky to be alive,” said Clare, who lives in Springbourne. “She is so small compared to the Great Dane and she is very old.

“We were walking on the golf course when we saw three dogs coming in the other direction. I didn’t think anything of it at first but then the Great Dane just went for Penny.”

Clare added: “I was hysterical and went to pieces but Lily just jumped in to save her – she could have been injured herself.”

Clare said the dark-coloured Great Dane was with a husky-type dog and a black Labrador, two men aged in their 20s and 30s and a little girl, aged around six or seven, with blonde hair.

The incident happened at around 1.30pm on Saturday, July 4, and anyone with information is asked to contact the council dog warden service on 01202 451451.

Just last month a three-year-old girl was airlifted to hospital and needed stitches in her head and face after being attacked in her garden by a dog and last week a Yorkshire terrier was mauled to death by a Staffordshire bull terrier cross on a playing field in West Howe.

Comments(15)

poolebabe says...
7:36pm Mon 6 Jul 09

More irresponsible dog owners. If a dog is injured, a responsible dog owner would be appauled their dog did this and would give contact details and at least make sure the dog was alright. I think dogs need to be insured and licensed to be walked in public. Attacking dogs owners who walk away should be treated the same as hit and run drivers as far as I'm concerned! What a brave 13yr old. Well done to you. Glad your little dog is ok after her ordeal.

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BobbyPoole says...
8:36pm Mon 6 Jul 09

not so many comments when it's a Great Dane attacking another dog is there ?!?!?! loadsa comments when it's a Staffie !!!!

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poolebabe says...
9:15pm Mon 6 Jul 09

I agree with you Bobby!

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woggy says...
11:10pm Mon 6 Jul 09

all dogs should be on leads, little terrier dog got what was coming to it, bet it was running wild and attacked the others dogs or even people, if dog was on lead would not happened 100%,

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jcolaj says...
11:45pm Mon 6 Jul 09

mmmmm. i wonder if this story is completely true?? If it was so horrific and the terrier was in the animal hospital for 2 days would it be out already??? i ve seen these little terrier type dogs go for the bigger dogs and they get the blame. From my experience of dog owners of little muts, the owners are usually just as much trouble as the terriers

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bigdaddyd says...
12:23am Tue 7 Jul 09

Are you sure it was a Dane? These dogs are known as gentle giants NOT nasty and aggresive. I ve had Danes in the past and have been harassed by little dogs whilst trying to enjoy a walk. just because an animal is big it does not make it aggressive. Shame... what breed is next to be blamed for something??

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Linds2009 says...
7:07am Tue 7 Jul 09

Some small dogs can be the ones who run up and annoy, but that does not warrant being taken in another dog's mouth and hurt.
Think how the owners may feel if they read this.
Basically we cannot assume anything and can only hope the reporting is accurate. We do not know the full circumstances.
Assuming something because one of the dogs is a small terrier is as bad as assuming something because it is a staffie!
Danes are usually friendly dogs but a friend of mine did have her elderly dog attacked by a Dane (he was a lab by the way) as she walked past his driveway (the dog ran out and bit him). Like any dog of any breed they can react if not socialised, or trained, or kept under control.Usually it is the owner who has not taken their responsibility as a dog owner seriously and is not the dog's fault.

Accidents do happen but I'd hope that any owner would feel huge remorse if their dog ever hurt another.

I walk my dogs on Queen's Park and most dogs seem friendly .... although I've met a few who are just not under the control of their owners....

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MJD says...
9:29am Tue 7 Jul 09

Don't blame the dog blame the owner.The owner needs training how to train and control the dog.

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poolebabe says...
9:31am Tue 7 Jul 09

I saw the other day two big Mountain dogs off lead. The male of the two was a year old, but a very large dog indeed. The dog wasn't doing any "harm" he was playing, but he was playing with a little spaniel and charging at the dog. It wasn't malice at all, but the shear size of the dog could easily have caused injury to another dog, especially given that the owner could not bring the mountain dog under control. It is easy to see how these things can get out of hand. The mountain dog, whilst playing, was getting over excited and clumsy. In watching the dog behaviour, the spaniel began to have enough and I could see the owner of the spaniel become cross that the mountain dog was not being brought under control. During this situation the female mountain dog joined in as well, and I could see it was begining to turn from play to pack mentality, and had that spaniel given off the slight wrong signal, it would have been game over. Luckily, the owner of the mountain dog, did eventually put them back on the lead, but really struggled to hold them before walking off. Seen this a thousand times. What starts off as play can become an issue. Should the mountain dog have accidently injured the spaniel during play, it could have easily have been something different. Ok so no harm done that time, but could the owner say the same the next time? All breeds of dogs are fine. The problem is when they aren't sufficiantly trained and socialised and learn doggie manners and owners failing to read the signals from their dogs. If in doubt keep them on a lead!!

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cantique says...
9:34am Tue 7 Jul 09

Any dog can get into a fight whatever it's size or breed. It't the owners who need to be responsible, firstly to try to stop this type of situation happening, and secondly to show some concern and offer assistance when it does.

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Laurie H Marsh says...
12:06pm Tue 7 Jul 09

BobbyPoole wrote:
not so many comments when it's a Great Dane attacking another dog is there ?!?!?! loadsa comments when it's a Staffie !!!!
1 Great Dane, how many Staffies?

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BobbyPoole says...
12:14pm Tue 7 Jul 09

Laurie H Marsh wrote:
BobbyPoole wrote: not so many comments when it's a Great Dane attacking another dog is there ?!?!?! loadsa comments when it's a Staffie !!!!
1 Great Dane, how many Staffies?
perhaps there are more staffies than danes ?!? do the maths

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RageAgainstTheMachine says...
12:48pm Tue 7 Jul 09

BobbyPoole wrote:
Laurie H Marsh wrote:
BobbyPoole wrote: not so many comments when it's a Great Dane attacking another dog is there ?!?!?! loadsa comments when it's a Staffie !!!!
1 Great Dane, how many Staffies?
perhaps there are more staffies than danes ?!? do the maths
ridiculous comment,a couple of years ago the Stafford was the number 1 owned dog in the country,how often do you meet a great Dane,ive seen 2 in about 10 years.
One of my Staffords, her grandfather won best Stafford at Crufts 3 Years running,there was no way on earth he was going to ever take the title of best dog at Crufts,as any dog that wins crufts,that particular breed suddenly becomes a most requested breed

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dan ecan says...
5:00pm Tue 7 Jul 09

Bournemouth Dog Wardens about as much use as the said community parks out fit.......

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tinkerbell57 says...
5:26pm Tue 7 Jul 09

as the owner of a staffy cross and another large dog,both rescued dogs, one has been attached by a yorkshire terrier.
I agree with the comments on here of its the owners resposibilty both my dogs are well trained and can be walked on and off the lead, and listen to what I say. Dog owners should be vetted before they are allowed to take a dog home with them , then there wouldn't be all the dogs needing homes, nor would there be the problem of unmanageable dogs!

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