A dog owner whose pet was mauled by a collie has called for tougher penalties for dog-on-dog attacks.
Lurcher Cash suffered several large gashes on his side after the incident, which happened on the South Inch in Perth on Friday morning.
Owner Morag Henderson was left to pay a large vet bill after the owner of the other dog “scurried off” following the incident.
She blasted the owner for failing to control her pet, as it has shown aggression towards Cash in the past, and called it a “lethal weapon”.
She said: “I’d seen the dog before and she got aggressive, so I have had to take Cash away from the park. On Friday she went for him and bit him in quite a bad way. It was obvious (what had happened) Cash was screaming. She just walked off.
“The owner should have her dog muzzled at the very least it’s a lethal weapon. It was quite ignorant of her to walk away.
“Cash had to have emergency treatment. The wounds were big and had to be stitched. He had a drain in his side and is on painkillers. It’s cost me £250 so far.
“He’s such a nice dog he doesn’t have a bad bone in his body I’m just hoping this doesn’t affect him too much. He didn’t deserve this.”
Two-year-old Cash, who was rescued from Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society at Christmas, is now recovering at Morag’s Perth home but she says she is disappointed by the lack of police action.
She said: “The police said it wasn’t a case for them but for the dog warden. They said it’s a civil matter but I think they need to take this kind of thing more seriously.
“If you have a car accident you have to give your details you should not be able to walk away if your dog attacks another. That woman is probably walking her dog off the lead in the same place today. It could be a child next time.
“I am going to take civil action against the owner. I also want to see harsher punishments for dog-on-dog attacks.”
A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “We are aware of the alleged incident but cannot comment specifically on the details of an ongoing investigation.”