BY MARK McKELVEY
A YOUNG pup and his owners were subjected to a vicious attack by a pitbull-type dog and its handler during their Sunday morning stroll through the Gortin Glens Forest Park.
Education pioneers Sir Bob and Lady Rosemary Salisbury, who live just outside Omagh, had been enjoying their walk through the Glens with their two Labrador dogs – Boatswain ('Bosun') and his mother Willow, when the attack began. A pitbull appeared suddenly and went straight for six-month-old Boatswain's throat.
"This pitbull-like dog came round the corner in front of us and in a flash was on top of our younger dog biting into his throat," explained Sir Bob. "There was no messing about; it suddenly appeared, made no noise and its instinct was to go for the throat area, as if it was trained to do so.
"I immediately tried to get it off by pulling its big studded collar but it was incredibly powerful. As I lifted it upwards, the small dog came up with it, locked in its jaws.
"I admit it, I had no other option but to boot it in the ribs and it released its grip. Just as I did that, this man came round the corner and shouted, 'Don't kick my f***ing dog'."
The attack dog's owner than made a violent assault on Lady Rosemary.
"Rosemary made an innocuous comment that such a dangerous dog should be on a lead in a public park and the man violently grabbed her by the throat while unleashing a barrage of expletives. I shouldered him down the bank and, after that, he just stood back and continued his abuse which lasted for a few minutes," Sir Bob told the Ulster Herald.
"I was utterly amazed at the ease with which he grabbed Rosemary's throat. That was his first reaction before anything was barely said, which I would think is extremely unusual."
During this entire incident, the man was accompanied by two chidlren – believed to be a 10- to 12-year-old girl and a six- to eight-year-old boy.
Lady Rosemary's remarks about his horrendous behaviour and the example he was setting the children only enraged him further. He made open threats to the retired couple until they said they were calling the police. The attacker then made a swift exit towards the car park.
Local athletes exercising in the park than reported they had noticed the man in question passing on the attack dog to a woman before he raced off erratically with the children in a maroon-coloured old-style car which could have been a Jaguar or a Triumph Acclaim.
Sir Bob said he hopes that this man will be apprehended soon, because another dog or even a small child might not be as fortunate as to survive next time.
"We need to try and catch this guy," he said. "It was clearly a fighting dog with the big front shoulders. It was so powerful. Had it been a small kid instead of a dog the results could have been fatal. It was a dangerous dog and an equally dangerous man."
Police are appealing for any information sabout this assault at Gortin Glen Forest Park at approximately 11am on Sunday, September 30.
The assailant is described as being aged between 35 and 40 and about 5ft 10ins tall, quite stocky with short brown hair. He was wearing a distinctive white T-shirt with a small red St George's Cross on the right breast and the word 'England' below it, jeans and trainers. He had a strong Northern Ireland accent.
The pitbull-like dog has been described as brindle (brown with black and white flecks) coloured.
Anyone who can help identify the assailant is asked to contact police in Omagh. The number to call with any information is 0845 600 8000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
