A shaken Sarah Wright with Honey.
Camera IconA shaken Sarah Wright with Honey. Credit: Supplied/Elle Borgward

Punches end dog attack

Bryce Luff, Cockburn GazetteFremantle Gazette

Sarah Wright was jogging with her golden retriever, Honey, along the cycle path adjacent to the Kwinana Freeway about 5.45pm when they crossed paths with a man and what Mrs Wright believes was a staffodshire bull terrier-cross.

As they passed the man and his dog, the staffy lunged at her three-year-old pet’s head, pinning her down.

‘As we approached I moved Honey to the side so we could pass easily, but the dog just attacked,’ she said.

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‘It was really scary because there wasn’t anything I could do. The dog had Honey’s face and was biting down, and the man was there punching the dog in the face.’

Mrs Wright said it felt like forever watching in horror as the man laid into his own dog with a flurry of punches in an attempt to jar loose its grip.

Finally, it came loose.

‘I just ran,’ Ms Wright said. ‘Honey was pretty stunned but she followed. The whole thing came out of nowhere.’

Besides some bleeding and a graze on her face, miraculously Honey escaped any major damage. Veterinary advice was to watch for any swelling, a sign of infection.

‘It was just fortunate that it wasn’t a smaller dog or a person, especially a baby, that the dog attacked,’ Mrs Wright said.

‘Dogs like that, or any dog that can’t be controlled, should be muzzled.’

Cockburn services manager Rob Avard said dog attacks were more common that the City would like.