Guide dog mauled by a bull terrier

Janet Plechaty, 65, said she was walking with Dixon – a labrador/ golden retriever cross – and her daughter in Kingswood, Basildon.

The bull terrier managed to slip its lead and attack Dixon, leaving him with bite marks on his side.

Janet, of Rayside, Basildon, said: “All I could hear when it happened was Dixon screaming and crying. It was awful.

“He’s my baby. I was dreadfully upset – we are together 24/7.

“If he was seriously hurt it would have meant I would have had to use my stick, which is really hard work. I would have had to leave Dixon at home on his own.”

At first Janet and her daughter Lisa Smith thought Dixon was fine.

The female owner of the staffie apologised and the pair left the park.

Moments later they realised eight-year-old Dixon’s wounds were dripping with blood.

Janet, who has been partially-sighted since birth, said: “We had to take him to the vet where they stitched him back up. I dread to think what would have happened if it was a child.”

Janet’s daughter, Lisa, 45, of Middle Crockerford, Vange added: “I really worry about mum going out on her own.

“Dixon is such a loveable dog and mum relies on him.”

The incident, at 1.45pm last Thursday, is not being probed by police because it is classed as a dog on dog attack.

The staffie was black, possibly brown, with white fur underneath its neck. Its owner is described as a woman in her sixties, with dark hair.

It is the latest incident involving dogs across Basildon and south Essex.

Last week the Echo reported Janet Relton, 37, was left heartbroken when her beloved yorkshire terrier died after it was attacked by a greyhound, in The Upway, Basildon.

On Thursday, April 8, Lynn Wood, 62, and her pedigree petit basset griffon vendeen Jack, were attacked by a pitbull and a rottweiler while walking through Dewsgreen, Vange. That attack came just days after four-year-old Erika Carter de Freitas Galiano was bitten by a police dog in Kismet Park, Canvey.