Detailed so I don't drip feed!
We live near a popular North East seaside resort and we decided to take our 5 month old puppy to a nearby dog friendly beach. He is very friendly but I am always wary of other dogs.
Our puppy was on a lead and my 9 year old DD was playing with him. Another dog walked past and our puppy went to greet it, but my DD sensibly pulled him back. Theirs was a popular working breed but one which is often seen as a family dog. It was humongous and came up to my DD's waist.
I was about to take the lead off DD when their dog doubled lunged at our puppy. DD span round and tried to pick ours up. The other dog grabbed hold of the puppy's back leg and tried to yank him to the ground.
One of the owners was by this time trying to stop their dog by battering it about the head with a luminous pink frisbee.
I manage to catch hold of DD and grab the pup, holding him high in the air as the other dog snapped and growled. The male owner managed to pull it off and, without saying a word, walked away, leaving his partner to speak to me.
She was apologetic and asked if DD was ok, which other than some scratches and shock, she was. She asked about the puppy. He had been yelping but had quietened down as I held him. I checked him over, no blood, nothing to indicate he was anything other than shaken up.
I was calm and polite and stressed how important it was to keep their dog on a lead in future. She said that she had been saying that to her DP. He hadn't been carrying a lead at all.
I didn't take any details from her as DD and pup seemed like they would be ok after the shock had worn off.
She apologised again and left the beach, but spent ages on the steps (it's a very long steep descent to the beach) and it looked like she and DP were arguing.
Consequently it took us a while to leave the beach because I didn't want to encounter them on our way out.
However, when we got up to leave it became clear that the pup couldn't walk. To get to the car I had to carry him up a very steep cliff path (which I find hard without carrying a 10kg puppy!)
I looked all over but the family had already left the car park so I couldn't get any details from them.
I rushed the puppy to the vets and luckily he only has a a sprained knee, for which he has been given anti-inflammatories. However I am now left with scratched and traumatised DD (as she was very very upset that our puppy was injured and worried about what it might be), a traumatised and injured puppy and a vets bill, all because someone refuses to acknowledge their dog needed to be on a lead!
Incidentally, the vet said that there had been a lot of dog on dog attacks at the beach recently, one in particular very serious, so we shall be steering clear for the rest of the summer holidays.