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A North Yorkshire man feels that more should be done against a dog that left him needing stitches and spending hours in hospital after he was bitten.
Ian Thompson was out walking his Great Dane when a Turkish Kangal broke free from his owner's hands and ran towards him last year.
The incident, which happened in a York park, saw the dog then attack his Great Dane, prompting him to stand in the way in a bid to break them apart.
However, he suffered a bite to his leg, requiring more than the five-hours worth of hospital treatment and receiving stitches for a torn tendon.
Mr Thompson said: “I had my dog fully in control on its lead walking next to me, with another dog as well on its lead, walking next to me.
“The other person’s dog, ripped itself away from its owner, ran across the road and I tried to shield my dog from it getting to them.
“It then basically took a massive chunk out the back of my leg and then proceeded to try and get my dog as well.”
“The police came to see me in hospital within half an hour, saw the extent of my injuries, seized the dog immediately and then the dog stayed locked up in police detention until August 25 or August 26.”
Following the seizure of the dog, named Jabba, the owner of the pet launched a campaign on Change.org calling for him to be released.
The campaign, which was featured in The Echo, argued that the dog was being kept without exercise in a kennel and the owner, Sam Scully, was concerned for its welfare.
Sam Scully, owner of the dog and author of the petition, argued that Jabba, must not “remain in secure kennels, alone and away from his family.”
She said: “His family misses him immensely and worry about his welfare while he remains in kennels for this prolonged length of time.”
However, Mr Thompson stressed that there was more to the story and wanted to make his side clear.
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He added: “She portrayed it as our dogs had been fighting and I tried to get in between to separate them.
“The reality came out in the court case, my dog was under control, but there was nothing I could do about it because it was wrapped up right around my hand, I couldn’t let go of it or anything.
“I’m particularly annoyed because, as soon as she came out of the court, she went home and put on Change.org, ‘justice has been done and we’ve got our dog back.’”
“No mention of the fact that that she has a criminal record, she’s been fined and the dog is on a delayed destruction order.
Asked if he felt it was a good outcome from the court case, he said: “To be honest, I would have liked the dog to be put down, it’s a dangerous dog and it’s going to kill someone at some point, so that’s my feeling on it.
“But that’s not what happened and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
He added: “I’m a dog lover, I’ve always had very big dogs, If I told you that my dog, which was attacked, is a Great Dane and yet the other dog was miles bigger.
“If you’ve ever seen a picture of a Kangal you’ll know, it’s got the most powerful bite of any other dog breed, that’s a fact and you can google it.”
It wasn’t the first time the dog had attacked Mr Thompson's pet as Jabba had allegedly attacked his pet a month before.
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During his time in hospital, Mr Thompson had his tendon stitched back together and had around 16 stitches on the outside, including a number of stitches inside as well.
He added: “I went in the hospital at 10.30 in the morning and came out at about 3 in the afternoon, was in there for the whole day.
“It led to a couple of weeks where I couldn’t really work because I couldn’t really drive, massive loss of income because I’m self employed.”
Sam Scully was charged with being in the care of a dog that was dangerously out of control and was fined £200. The pet has been issued a delayed destruction order.
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