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Brave postman 'savaged' by rescue mongrel
A POSTMAN was recovering in hospital earlier this week after a dog attacked him while he was on his round, ripping flesh from his arm.
John Green told how he had been delivering mail when he was set upon by a mongrel dog, which bit into his arm and tore off chunks of flesh. Mr Green, 53, who has already undergone surgery and is awaiting a second operation to repair his damaged arm, said he was considering taking legal action against the dog's owner over the attack.
The incident happened as Mr green was carrying out his round in the village of Stoke-by-Clare, near Clare on Tuesday morning. He was about to deliver mail at a house when a medium-sized, grey-haired mongrel dog attacked and locked its teeth into his arm, causing serious injuries.
The shaken postman said yesterday: "The whole thing is very unfortunate, the dog is from a rescue centre and I knew that it was aggressive, but the owners usually keep it shut away when I arrive".
"Unbeknown to me at the time, the owners were away on holiday in France and when I went through the gate, a woman who was staying at the house let the dog out and it attacked me. It was so ferocious, the dog just jumped up and clamped its jaw around my arm and wouldn't let go".
"It happened so quick, so I wasn't really scared…I just couldn't get the dog off. Eventually, I managed to kick it away, and run back behind the gate; I then went to another house to get some help".
Mr Green from Great Cornard, near Sudbury, was taken to hospital by a manager from his Sudbury Postal Office and underwent surgery later that day. He is expected to remain in hospital until the weekend.
Mr Green explained "I have a big gaping wound, several puncture marks and I have lost some of the movement in my fingers. I am not certain at this stage whether or not I have permanently damaged the muscles, but hopefully I will make a full recovery."
"I have had a few 'nips' from dogs before, but nothing like this. I am definitely considering some sort of legal action because it looks like I will be off work for quite some time. I am a dog lover and have never been scared of them, but I will certainly be more cautious from now on," said Mr Green.
A spokesman for the Royal Mail later said: "We are obviously very upset and concerned by this incident and we take dog attacks very seriously. All of our postmen and women are given special training on how to deal with dogs and deterrents, such as sprays can be made available if requested."
Suffolk Police later said it had been told that the dog's owner was going to have the pet destroyed.
Story By: Patrick Lowman Email Link: patrick.lowman@ecng.co.uk
Date : 27-07-2001
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