Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles has told how he bravely fought to save his dog after a 10-stone mastiff attacked her.
The food writer, 50, said “all hell broke loose” when the large canine spotted Maud, his little Jack Russell, during a walk on Kensington High Street, west London.
The mastiff pulled away from their walker and tore into Maud said Mr Parker Bowles, King Charles’s stepson.
He told the Daily Mail: “Within moments, the mastiff had his jaws locked deep into my tiny, less-than-one-stone terrier, who was shrieking with terror. Then came the most heartrending cry of pain. At this point, my memory goes rather hazy.”
Mr Parker Bowles added “pure instinct took over” during the encounter earlier this month and he launched himself on the “brute”, which he believed to be a Cane Corso mastiff.
The father-of-two continued: “I knew Maud would be finished if the attacker could lift its head to shake her like a rag, or crush her like a furry Twiglet.
“I launched myself on to the dog, desperately trying to undo his jaws, which were locked, vice-like, on her soft white belly.”
Crowds gathered and one man reportedly whacked the attacking dog with his walking stick.
The mastiff loosened its grip after around 30 seconds, a period which felt like hours to Mr Parker Bowles. But Maud suffered severe injuries.
It wasn’t until Mr Parker Bowles reached Chiswick High Road that he began crying at the horror.
“I must have looked like a loony,” he wrote. “The only thing for it was the pub.
Two double Laphroaig’s later and the tears still flowed like the River Dee.
His pet Maud needed two operations and may bear psychological scars for a long time.
Mr Parker Bowles informed police doesn’t “want the dog who attacked Maud put down, nor do I want to press charges”, adding: “What I do want, though, is these big, powerful and often beautiful dogs to be muzzled when out in public. Is that too much to ask?”
