A WOMAN was left traumatised after her dog was attacked when out for a walk in Barrow.

Aimee Rollinson was walking along Greengate Street with her French Bulldog Hugo when a woman emerged from a backstreet with a dog that was not on a lead.

The 29-year-old said the dog, which she believed was a Staffie cross, ran over and grabbed Hugo.

Miss Rollinson said “It has been traumatising.

“Her dog was about six metres away but it ran over and grabbed my dog.

“It was about six times as big as Hugo - I think it was a Staffie cross.

“It took about five minutes to get the dog off him because it completely locked its jaw.

“My dog was screaming and yelping. He’s only tiny and I genuinely thought I’d lost him, it was horrendous."

It happened at around 5pm on Sunday and she is now appealing for anyone witnesses to come forward.

“A passerby came to help and get the dog off him and once I got him in my arms I said ‘you shouldn’t have it off it’s lead’ and she just responded with ‘I know’," she said.

Miss Rollinson has been left furious after the owner fled the scene when a member of the public informed them that they were ringing the police.

Hugo has since visited the vets to receive treatment for his gruesome injuries.

Miss Rollinson said: “The vets bill just cost me £200.

“Hugo is in a lot of pain. He’s had the whole of his back shaved to see how extreme it is.

“There’s a really deep cut, lots of scratches and his sides are swollen.

“He’s had antibiotics and pain relief and he’s got some medicine that he’s on for a month because the bite is so deep.

“He can’t even lift his leg up to have a wee.

“He’s only small so who knows what he will be like going out for a walk or just seeing a dog now.”

Miss Rollinson believes that the dog had a name beginning with ‘B’, but was too caught up in the moment to take in what was happening.

The dogs coat was blue.

She had also sustained minor injuries herself, with bruising to her hand from parting the two dogs. She is now stressing the importance of keeping dogs on leads if they are unpredictable around others.

She said: “The owner of the dog who attacked Hugo must have known what type of dog it was and it can’t have been its first encounter with a dog. I’m just glad that it wasn’t a kid.”

When Miss Rollinson got home, she rang Cumbria Police to report the incident herself. She said that she was advised to post her encounter on social media to find out who the owner was and to get back in touch to report it.

According to a Cumbria Police spokesman a dog on dog attack is not a criminal offence therefore there would not be an investigation.

However, people are still encouraged to report such incidents to police by calling 101.

If you have information, email: aimee.rollinson@googlemail.com