Woman and dog left bloodied after being mauled by Labrador at popular Bath walking spot

A woman and a dog have been left bloodied after they were mauled by a Labrador on a popular walk in Bath.

Tess Skelly was looking after pet dog Henry for his owner when she was attacked on 21 September.

The 24-year-old was walking her black Labrador on Cotswold Way near Primrose Hill in Weston when she says they were approached by a woman and another dog called Alfie.

She said the second dog, also a black Labrador, seemed "friendly enough.

"It wasn’t growling or vicious and it wasn’t on the alert," she added.

But as the two dogs neared each other, Alfie attacked the dog Tess was walking.

"This woman just kind of stood there and she asked me to get my dog. I said ‘I would, but your dog is shaking him’."

Tess then tried kicking Alfie away from Henry, but the "very stocky" dog would not let go.

"These two hikers came along and they let me use one of their hiking poles to push Alfie off Henry.

"In the midst of all that, Alfie bit me on the forearm.

"This woman saw I was bleeding and she didn’t apologise or anything," Tess added.

'Awful injuries'

The dog-walker took Henry home where she checked him over, before going straight to the hospital to get her wrist seen to.

Doctors said the wound was "quite deep" and sutured it together and bandaged it. Tess was given antibiotics to fend off any bacteria lingering in the cut.

When Henry was rushed to the vets, they discovered the attack had torn some of the Labrador's tissues and caused multiple puncture wounds.

"It was awful, the vet could actually put her fingers in the hole and wiggle them around," Tess said.

Henry had to have surgery and received two layers of stitches. He later became ill due to an infection but two weeks on from the incident is on the mend.

But Tess and her partner say they still feel anxious when walking Henry.

"We are just on edge the whole time," she explained.

"He had to have his ruff shaved so he has no protection there at the minute.

"Immediately now when we see a dog my first instinct is ‘what if this happens again’. We feel like we need to take a hiking stick with us," Tess added.

She said since posting about the attack on social media, she has been contacted by other local people whose dogs have also had run-ins with Alfie.

Police are appealing for information about Alfie and his owner.

A post on the Bath Neighbourhood Policing Facebook page confirmed Tess' account and described the attacker as a "stocky black Labrador named 'Alfie' in the Weston Bath area."The force said: "A description of the offending dog's owner was a white female aged from 60 years old, shoulder-length grey hair in curls, black round glasses, 5.6 in height with a curvy build.

"The owner may have been walking 'Alfie' for her son."

It says if anyone recognises the description of the dog, they should contact the force via Facebook or by calling 101 and quoting crime number 5221220478.