A Dundee dog walker has told of his anger after two men allegedly injured his pet by sling-shooting a stone at it in a city park.
Scott Reilly was walking through Baxter Park with Tiny, his rescue staffie, when the incident happened on Saturday at around 10.30pm.
The 28-year-old explained that Tiny is still walking with a limp after the stone hit his leg, causing him to “crumble and bleed” on the ground.
Scott, a student from Stobswell, said: “Tiny is a rescue dog and he’s not good with other dogs, so I take him out at night when it’s quiet.
“I was walking him in Baxter Park on Saturday night as usual and to begin with everything was going OK.
“There were people drinking in the park but I didn’t take any notice of them.
“When I went past the pavilion I noticed two guys in their twenties sitting on a bench and thought they looked quite dodgy.
“As I neared the exit of the park I felt a strong breeze whoosh past my legs and next thing I knew Tiny has crumbled into a wee heap and is crying like a baby.
“He was bleeding and when I shone my torch down I saw a boulder the size of a fist at his legs.
“I’m 100% sure the two guys I passed decided to slingshot my dog.”
When Scott got his dog home, he noticed his back leg was bleeding and he had a “massive welt” on it.
Scott has reported the incident to the police and now wants to warn other dog walkers to be vigilant in the evenings.
He added: “I just don’t understand how someone could do that to a dog I know not everyone likes staffies but Tiny couldn’t harm anyone if he tried.
“I had to disinfect his leg and cuddle him for most of the night.
“If he had been hit in the face he could have been blinded.
“I’m so angry and I was really quite upset by the whole thing.
“I thought people should be made aware of what happened, there should be more lighting put up in Baxter Park so that people walking their dogs aren’t in the pitch black darkness.”
A police spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the matter.”