'I still hear my dogs' screams as they were attacked'

A woman who needed hospital treatment for puncture wounds after being attacked by a rottweiler has said she feels let down by the initial response from police.

Sam Rousell, 44, said she had just left her home in Wincheap, Canterbury, with her two dogs, Freya and Loki, and a friend, when a large dog "launched over" and "went to attack" her pets.

Rousell said she was able to "drag" the rottweiler away from Freya, but was bitten herself, leading to her requiring antibiotics, a tetanus jab and dressings for her injuries.

Kent Police initially recorded the incident as a dog-on-dog attack, but said it was now treating it as a dangerous dog out of control after a review by the dog legislation officer.

Rousell said she had only just left her front door when the rottweiler attacked on the afternoon of 6 April.

"The first thing I could think of was 'not my babies', so I jumped straight in and was on the floor, essentially wrestling this rottweiler as it was biting Freya," she said.

"I knew that if it latched on, it would kill them."

She says she still hears Freya and Loki "screaming".

Once back inside her house, Rousell found that while Freya and Loki were unharmed, she had been badly hurt in the attack.

Police officers arrived and urged Rousell to go to the local urgent treatment centre for her injuries.

Initially, police said they were treating it as a dog-on-dog incident, which Rousell said implied she had been to blame for her injuries.

She said she contacted her local councillor, MP's office and the media for help, but said it was at least two weeks before police agreed to change how they were treating the attack.

"It shouldn't have taken the amount of stress to get this case treated seriously," she said.

Kent Police district commander for Canterbury, Ch Insp Paul Stoner, confirmed the force was investigating a dog dangerously out of control on 6 April in Wincheap.

He said enquiries were ongoing, which included an interview under caution with the dog's owner and a review of a previous incident reported in January.

The force said it was also carrying out a safeguarding assessment to ensure the dog posed no further risk to public safety, which could result in a requirement for it to be muzzled and on a lead whilst outside.

Stoner added: "As a force we fully understand how traumatic incidents such as these can be and acknowledge that waiting for updates from officers can add to anxiety when a conclusion is yet to be reached.

"My officers have spoken with the victim and will ensure she is kept updated and informed of the progress of this investigation."

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