Poodle dies after ‘terrifying’ attack by dogs in east London park

Vets said nothing could be done to save the dog

Monday 06 September 2021 18:05 BST

Ruby the poodle, her owner, and a passer-by were all attacked by the three dogs at Bartlett Park, in Poplar, east London (Gordon Joly)

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A miniature poodle has died after she and her owner were attacked by three “pit bull terrier-style” dogs in a park in east London.

Anna Guglielmi, 32, said she let three-year-old Ruby off the leash in the dog enclosure in Bartlett Park, Poplar, when they were attacked by the “out of control” dogs.

She told the Evening Standard: “We were walking into the dog park and I took Ruby off the lead. Then these three huge dogs came running towards me.

“I immediately grabbed Ruby and was holding her but they jumped on my back and were biting her. They bit me. It was terrifying.

“They were pit bull terrier-style dogs and the owner couldn’t control them. He didn’t even have a lead.”

One of Ms Guglielmi’s friends, a man who was passing by, stepped in to try to separate the dogs and had to prise one of the dog’s jaws off Ruby, who was still in her owner’s arms.

The man was bitten on the face, while Ms Guglielmi received puncture wounds to her legs.

Ms Guglielmi called the police and took Ruby to a nearby vet.

But Ruby’s injuries were so severe, as her organs had been punctured, and she had lost so much blood that vet said she had to be put down.

Ms Guglielmi told the Standard that she believes the police were “so quick to take [the dogs] in” because they had bitten her leg, and her friend’s face.