A dog attack has left a young horse fighting for his life, with 18 puncture wounds and flesh missing from his front leg.
Denby, a six-month-old foal, is in a critical condition at Scarsdale veterinary practice, in Markeaton Lane, Derbyshire, after his owners found him in ‘terrible shock’ in his field in Spondon, Derby, yesterday.
Devastated owners Jacqueline Bantock, 50, and Robert Plume, 58, found clumps of his fur covered in blood in the field just off the Anglers Lane canal path shortly before 6pm.
Mr Plume said: ‘Our other horse has been acting as a mother figure for Denby, he must be traumatised by what happened.
‘We’ve only had him for a few weeks, we were hoping to have him for life.’
The pair are appealing for help to track down the owner of the dog.
Ms Bantock, who is a full-time carer, said: ‘Someone must have seen a dog with blood on it.
‘Now that dog has had a taste of blood, it could happen again to another animal or child.
‘There should be a new law out there about keeping dogs like that on leads. I just need to know if anyone has any information.’
The couple said the vet confirmed it was a dog attack.
Mr Plume comforted Denby in the immediate aftermath of the savage attack.
He said: ‘The vets are cleaning the wounds and giving him painkillers.
‘They’re doing everything they can at the moment.’
The construction worker added: ‘The chances of his survival are not great.’
Vets will only be able to assess the true extent of the injuries to Denby and whether there has been any internal damage, following an X-Ray.
Mr Plume, who has owned horses on and off ‘for a long time’, says that the police have informed him that they will not be able to do much if they did not see a dog and its owner in the field.
The couple, who are offering a £100 reward for any information put forward, are visiting a building site in the area today to check whether there is CCTV which could help them find out what
happened.
They believe the incident occured between 5.30pm and 6pm as the land owner left the field at 5.30pm and the pair got to the field just before 6pm.
Ms Bantock’s son, Stephen Bantock says the incident has left the family in a great deal of shock.
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The 26-year-old said: ‘I just want to stress how important it is to keep control of your animals.
‘This time it was a small horse, but next time it could be a child.
‘I’m just concerned that the owner of the dog knows what has happened and doesn’t take any precautions to prevent something like this happening again.’
Ms Bantock wants to express her thanks and gratitude to Bob Jewell of East Midland Equine horse transport service – who travelled over an hour to pick up Denby.
