Fears Pit Bull "Tiger" is on the loose in Gloucester after pet attack


A FIERCE dog tore into a family pet – and his devastated owners want the savage mutt and his keepers caught before a child is attacked.

Ellen and Paul Watkins said the Pit Bull-type dog known as "Tiger" ripped apart their Staffordshire Bull Terrier Max.

Max was so badly injured that Mr Watkins, 50, could see his pet's lungs through a hole in his side.

He said the two hoodie-wearing owners did not stop the attack in Gloucester Park.
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It happened in broad daylight as he took Max for a walk last Sunday.

"It's quite horrifying to see your dog chewed up by something much bigger," said Mr Watkins, who said other owners and dogs have been threatened by Tiger recently.

"His owners did nothing. There's usually three lads with him and on Sunday there were two – I wanted their name and where they lived, but they ran off towards Wellington Street.

"I tried to take pictures on my mobile phone but they didn't come out."

Mr Watkins, who lives in central Gloucester with his wife, had to kick Tiger in the face to force him off Max – then Tiger went for him.

After kicking him off again, he claims Tiger and his owners ran off.

Max, who was on a lead at the time of the attack, suffered puncture wounds on his back and legs, and a tear down his flank so deep that a lung was visible.

He has been treated by a vet who has given him painkillers and antibiotics.

Mr Watkins said he first saw the dog, which he believes is a Pit Bull type, last summer when it was a puppy.

"It's called Tiger – it's an orange or brown colour with brown stripes," he said.

"When it was a puppy they were calling it Tiger.

"Then, I assumed it was a Staffie, but it looks like it has some Pit Bull in it.

"It's six to eight inches taller than Max."

Mr Watkins, 50, who also walks Max in the park, fears Tiger could strike again.

"They have got to learn to at least put him on a lead and muzzle him," he said.

"Max weighs five stone and could look after himself but he didn't stand a chance.

"This Tiger dog has attacked a friend's dog too.

"It's always off the lead.

"I worry that he will attack again, and as the park has a lot of children playing there, he could go for a child."

Pit Bull type dogs are one of four banned in the UK, along with Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Braziliero.

They are not recognised as breeds and it is illegal to sell, abandon, give away, or breed them under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Banned dogs are not recognised as a breed, but a type. If a dog has characteristics of a banned type, it may be treated as such regardless of its parents' breed or type.

Pit Bull type dogs include American Staffordshire Terriers, Irish Staffordshire Terriers, and Irish Blue or Red Nose.

Staffordshire Bull Terriers, like Max, are not a banned type.

Seven Pit Bull-type dogs were destroyed after a raid on a home in St Aldwyn Road, Tredworth, Gloucester in December.

Police confirmed they had been contacted about a dog attack in Gloucester Park on Sunday at 1.30pm.

Anyone who knows Tiger's owners or has seen the dog, is asked to call police on 0845 090 1234 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number 252/6/2/11.

■ Have you seen Tiger? Call The Citizen on 01452 420 621.

Something odd.A wound so deep the dogs lungs were visible through the hole and no surgery?Just antibiotics and painkillers?A pit that stopped attacking another dog that it already ripped a hole in because of a kick in the head? I've stopped a few dog fights in my time (ordinary rather than pitbulls!) and I've never managed it without getting hold of the dogs and dragging them apart.The pitbull attacked the man and again driven off by a kick?AND the kicking man has no holes in him?
Sorry but there's something extremely not right with this story.
As Judge Judy is so fond of saying "If it doesn't make sense it's probably not true!"

Something odd.A wound so deep the dogs lungs were visible through the hole and no surgery?Just antibiotics and painkillers?A pit that stopped attacking another dog that it already ripped a hole in because of a kick in the head? I've stopped a few dog fights in my time (ordinary rather than pitbulls!) and I've never managed it without getting hold of the dogs and dragging them apart.The pitbull attacked the man and again driven off by a kick?AND the kicking man has no holes in him?
Sorry but there's something extremely not right with this story.
As Judge Judy is so fond of saying "If it doesn't make sense it's probably not true!"