Dog-owner's appeal for witnesses to pit bull attack that left her dog in need of £5,000 operation

Ralph, her West Highland Terrier, now needs extensive surgery after he was 'savagely' attacked on a walk in a Northampton park.

And when she and nearby witnesses confronted the pitbull's owner, he verbally abused her and ran away.

'Jane', who has asked that her real name is not revealed for fear of reprisals, said: "What upsets me the most is that he just walked away. The vet bill comes to £2,000, even with insurance, and this awful man has just left me with it."

Jane was walking her two dogs, Ralph and Hugo, in Abington Park, Northampton, at 4.30pm on Friday (April 21).

She said: "This dog, which I think was an American Pit Bull Terrier, came out of nowhere and attacked Ralph. It just ragdolled him.

"The pit bull's owner ran over and started punching and kicking his dog to get it off."

American Pit Bull Terriers are a banned breed in Britain.

Janes said: "His dog let go. I expected him to say sorry or act shocked. But he just put his dog on his lead and walked away.

"Ralph was badly hurt. It took a few seconds just to come to my senses. I pulled my phone out and took a photo of him as he walked away.

"Then I shouted after him about how his dog had just attacked us. But he just turned around and told me to 'eff off'.

"Other nearby who saw and heard the attack began to shout after him too. It was then he ran off. That proves his guilt if you ask me.

"I called the police but they told me there was nothing they could do because 'dogs attack dogs'."

Ralph's leg was pulled from its socket in the attack and his ligaments were badly damaged. He now needs surgery and Jane says he's been 'traumatised' since Friday.

Jane now wants to find the man who let his dog cause so much damage, and is trying to contact any witnesses at the park that afternoon.

The man was described as mixed-race and of stocky build. He was wearing burgundy trousers, a black jumper and black boots. The dog was black and had white fur around its neck.

After sharing her story on Facebook, other dog owners have contacted her to say they were also attacked by a pit bull terrier in the Abington Park area.

Jane said: "One person said they saw him in the park goading his dog into killing squirrels."

Anyone who witnessed the attack or anyone with information can contact the Chronicle & Echo.

Jane's friends have also started a JustGiving page to help cover Ralph's vet bills at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michelle-barba?utm_id=92.