AN 81-YEAR-OLD woman died after being pulled to the ground by a dog she had rescued five years earlier.

A Bournemouth inquest heard Patricia Donnelly suffered fatal injuries when she was pulled over by the Saluki near her Bear Cross home on July 9 last year.

She died from multiple injuries two days later in Poole Hospital’s critical care unit.

Assistant Dorset Coroner Grant Davies heard Mrs Donnelly, a widow, had experienced significant health problems in the months leading up to her death.

She had been treated for lung cancer and was also suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure and kidney disease.

Mr Davies was told Mrs Donnelly, a dog lover, took her pet for a walk on July 9 despite not having done so on her own for around a year due to health problems.

She fell and suffered multiple injuries including broken ribs and a fractured pelvis.

In a statement read to the inquest, held in the coroner’s court at Bournemouth town hall, Mrs Donnelly’s family said she went to a dog rescue centre five years ago and chose the “skinniest” dog she could find.

Recording a conclusion that she died as the result of an accident, Mr Davies said: “Pat was clearly a very loving wife and mother. She was clearly a dog lover as well.

“Sadly it would appear that the dog pulled her over.”

Mrs Donnelly was born in London in 1937 and moved to Bournemouth at the age of 16.

She was a bingo enthusiast who had worked in a number of jobs including live-in help at a B&B, hotel work, as a cake decorator and a tram conductor.