Pitlochry pensioner injured and pet terrier savaged in doorstep attack by 'bully' dogs
A Perthshire pensioner says his pet terrier is lucky to be alive after they were attacked on their own doorstep by two bully-type dogs.
Norman Hawkes claims he was knocked to the ground by one of the animals while the other seized his own dog by the throat and abdomen.
Twelve-year-old Misty needed surgery to stitch her wounds.
Norman, 79, says his beloved pet is traumatised and he is furious.
'She was covered in blood,' he said.
'The wee soul didn't deserve that.
'She could have been killed.'
Norman called 999 following the incident.
Police say their inquiries are continuing, while Perth and Kinross Council's dog warden is also investigating.
The ordeal unfolded as Norman was letting Jack Russell terrier Misty out into the back garden of their Kennedy Place home around 10pm on Sunday.
'I'd barely got the door open and the bigger of the two dogs was in like a shot and on top of my wee dog,' he said.
'Then the female jumped in and knocked me flat on my back to get to Misty, and she started on her too.'
Norman says the couple who were with the dogs managed to drag them off, but not before Misty was badly injured.
'She had a big gash on her neck and puncture wounds,' he said.
'I've hurt my back too.
'The woman tried to help me up, but the man said it was him who was bleeding.
'It wasn't. It was blood off my dog. Misty was covered in it.'
He added: 'I went back in shaking, and my wife was in tears.
'I'm still raging.'
Norman's wife Cathy took Misty to the vet.
She had her wounds stitched on Monday morning and returned home to recover in the afternoon.
The couple will now have to pay a vet's bill amounting to close to a thousand pounds.
And Norman says they're scared to let Misty out into her own back garden.
'We'll have to take her somewhere else,' he said.
'I've been round all the neighbours and told them to watch out.'
Perth and Kinross Council says its dog control team is aware of Norman's report and is working with the police.
A Police Scotland spokesperson told The Courier: 'Around 10.35pm on Sunday May 18 2025, officers received a report of a dog having been attacked by two other dogs on Kennedy Place, Pitlochry.
'Inquiries are ongoing.'
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