Dog to lose testicles after being attacked by woman

A dog will have to be castrated after it was attacked by a woman in Bodmin, Cornwall. Alfie, a two-year-old Springer Spaniel had to be put on a drip after the vicious attack on the Beacon nature reserve. The animal also received throat injuries and bruising after it was kicked and whipped with a lead by the woman.

Alfie’s owner, Keren Northcott, who is now facing a vet’s bill of £350, has reported the attack to police, who are appealing for information. The attack happened on May 9 between 5.30pm and 6pm, when Alfie tried to mount the woman’s bitch while it was on heat. Ms Northcott, who was with her daughter at the time, said the woman went berserk. “Alfie was beside me, when her dog came bouncing up to us. Alfie could sense she was on heat and they both ran off together.



“The next thing I knew the woman was trying to separate them. She was yanking his collar really hard, lashing out with her lead and kicking my dog. He spent a day in the vets on a drip, and his testicles were so badly injured he will have to be castrated now. The woman also injured his windpipe by pulling at his collar, and now he can’t bend down to eat and I have to feed him by hand." She said her dog was now on antibiotics and three further trips to the vets were still needed to treat Alfie.

Ms Northcott described the woman as in her late 30s, early 40s, with dark hair in a ponytail and her dog as a small, young, black and white collie-cross bitch. “I do hope the police manage to catch this woman. But I also want to appeal to owners to keep their dogs on leads if their bitches are on heat," she said. A police spokesperson said they would like to hear from anyone with information about the dog owner responsible.