Police descend on pensioner's home to seize 'dangerous' 10-year-old Yorkshire terrier

‘My dog is not vicious. He’s not a Rottweiler - he’s a little Yorkshire terrier’

Alfie the Yorkshire terrier (SWNS)

Police in Kingston have searched a pensioner’s home and seized her 10-year-old Yorkshire terrier under the Dangerous Dogs Act, after he chased an online delivery man.

Seven police officers attended the home of 73-year-old Claudia Settimo in Kingston Vale, where officers carried out a search warrant for her dog Alfie.

The seizure of Alfie follows an incident in June when a courier came to deliver an online order to Ms Settimo's address. She told the Richmond and Twickenham Guardian she asked for the package to be left outside her house as the dog, which she has owned since he was a puppy, gets excited around people.

When she opened the door to collect the package, the courier was still there and Alfie ran outside. The man started screaming and fell over, claiming he had been bitten, before a next door neighbour came out and picked the dog up.

“My dog is not viscious. He’s not a Rottweiler – he’s a little Yorkshire terrier,” Ms Settimo told the newspaper.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told The Independent a dog had been seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act and that officers would be arranging to interview the owner "at a mutually convenient time".

The police said they were acting following a report from a delivery courier that “a dog, possibly a border collie or similar size, had chased him then leapt up and bit him on his stomach”. The man stated that he then fell over and was bitten behind the ear, and was treated for minor injuries at a west London hospital, police said.

Two dog units and three local officers attended the scene and discovered the animal was a Yorkshire terrier, the spokesperson said. The dog was seized and inquiries are continuing.

Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Settimo described her dog as a “pussycat” and said she is worried about how her dog will respond to being away from her: “Alfie is excitable when he sees people but he’s then a pussycat.

“It’s terrible because he’s 10 years old and not a young dog. We’ve never been apart. He probably thinks I’ve abandoned him as he’s never been in a kennel. I haven’t been able to see him. He didn’t deserve this,” she said.