Ruby the dog posing with her owner Anna Guglielmi
(Picture: Anna Guglielmi)A toy poodle has died and its owner is recovering from injuries after they were savaged by three “pit bull terrier type” dogs in an east London park.
Anna Guglielmi, 32, was walking her three-year-old pet Ruby in Bartlett Park, Poplar, when they were attacked. The marketing researcher on Monday warned other dog walkers to be on their guard after the “traumatic” incident.
Ms Guglielmi told the 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, who was passing by, stepped in to try to separate the dogs and had to prise one of their jaws off Ruby, who was still in her owner’s arms. He was bitten on the face, while Ms Guglielmi received puncture wounds to her legs.
She added: “Ruby was screaming, I was screaming. I was trying to protect her but they just kept attacking. They were out of control.
“It’s terrifying to think that could have been a child walking in that park. I believe they would’ve done the same thing.”
After the attack Ms Guglielmi called the police and took Ruby to a vet. But her pet’s injuries were so severe she had to be put down.
“Ruby was still alive, but she’d lost so much blood,” she said. “Her organs were punctured and the vet just said she couldn’t be saved.”
The Met confirmed officers were called to Bartlett Park just before 3pm on August 26 and seized three dogs “for assessment”.
There have been no arrests and inquiries are “ongoing”.
A fundraiser set up to raise money for a memorial bench dedicated to Ruby and a 10-year-old dog called Leia, who was walked in the same park and coincidentally died on the same day from cancer, has raised more than £1,600.
Ms Guglielmi is calling a change in the law that would see dogs that attack and kill other pets treated in the same way they would be if they showed aggression to humans.
Currently in most cases dogs are only considered “dangerously out of control” and destroyed if they attack a person.
“Ruby was the most loved dog,” she said. “She was very small and I’m sure if she had been a child those dogs would have attacked her in exactly the same way.
“They bit me and the people trying to help, which is why the police were so quick to take them in.
“If they hadn’t bitten me it could have been a different story. It’s not the dogs’ fault. It is owner’s. They should be held responsible.
“Everyone in the park knew Ruby. She was so happy and loving. I can’t believe she’s gone. People have been leaving flowers. It’s amazing the money that has already been raised for the bench to remember her and Leia.”
