TWO Warnbro families have been left devastated after a dog attack left one dog dead and another facing being put down.
The two dogs involved were Rusty, a maltese shih tzu owned by Tony Cronshaw’s family, and Jemma, a labrador cross owned by Adam Bunting’s family.
Mr Cronshaw said three children were walking towards him and his dog Rusty about 2pm on Sunday.
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READ NOW“I sensed something – I just sensed something wrong,” he said.
“It’s odd; normally I would pick up Rusty if I saw a stray dog or another dog approach.
“The other dog started getting aggressive, pulling on the lead, so I was yelling ‘restrain your dog’.
“I heard one of the kids say ‘hold the dog’, but at that point the dog got off and it happened. It was so quick.
“I was on the ground trying to get the other dog off Rusty. I grazed my knees on the road in the process.
“Then I’m not sure what happened because the dog suddenly let go and ran away.”
Mr Cronshaw said the owner of the other dog apologised.
“They were apologetic, but they’ve hurt me and they have hurt my dog,” he said.
“They said I was swearing at their kids but I don’t think I did. My voice was raised, yes.
“I believe there needs to be more responsible dog ownership. I don’t think those kids should have been in control of that dog that day.”
Unfortunately, due to Rusty’s injuries and his age (13), the Cronshaws made the difficult decision to have him put down.
“Nobody can feel what I feel because I physically witnessed my dog being attacked,” Mr Cronshaw said.
“The last couple of days have been a nightmare.”
Mr Bunting said his family was also distraught after the ordeal.
He said Jemma was previously neglected and had been part of their family for three months.
Mr Bunting claims Jemma had reacted to Mr Cronshaw’s aggressive tone of voice.
“I strongly believe Jemma was protecting the kids that day – I swear on my family,” he said.
“I believe she was protecting the kids and skittish from the car that day.
“If I truly believed something was done wrong then it would be a different story.
“I feel for them just as much as anything else. I’m really sorry. The grief is incredible – I am really sorry.”
On Tuesday, afternoon City of Rockingham rangers and police impounded Jemma, pending an investigation.
Mr Bunting said the rangers had not spoken to them.
“They just took our dog. No one has been to get our side of the story,” he said.
He said he would fight to get Jemma back.
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