A woman from Llangennech who was out walking her dog with her husband in Llanelli was left bloodied after the couple was suddenly attacked by two “large” dogs. Jennifer Bennett, 68, and her husband Tony Bennett, 71, were walking their son’s dog – a two-year-old Labrador, Bow – when the attack happened.
The couple had taken Bow for a walk on the Llanelli Millennium Walk when they were suddenly attacked by two dogs near the North Dock on Boxing Day, December 26 at around 2.30pm.
Jennifer, who sustained injuries that broke her skin, said: “We were just walking along, when my husband saw a dog approach us. He was in a grassed, verged area, and he came along and attacked our dog. What we didn’t know was that there was another dog of the same type – this man had two dogs – it [second dog] came around the back of us. He jumped on my back, I lost my balance, fell over my husband, we were on the floor and this dog bit me.”
The dog bite left Jennifer ‘bleeding profusely’
(Image: Jennifer Bennett)
Jennifer had to go to the A&E in Llanelli as the dogs’ attack left her bleeding profusely. She said: “After that, we went to A&E in Llanelli because the dog had actually broken the skin. They were very good, they were very efficient, and I was swiftly dealt with. They gave me a tetanus and penicillin because the dog had broken my skin and it was bleeding profusely.” For the latest Carmarthenshire news, sign up to our newsletter here
Her husband Tony described the two dogs as large Bernese Mountain dogs with slightly different colouring. He noticed the first dog acting a little differently and geared up to defend Bow. He explained: “I saw a dog in the grass about 20 yards away, and he turned towards us, and started running towards us. We didn’t know it at the time, but it appeared that he was going to be aggressive, so I got a hold of Bow, Jennifer was by my side. We were stationary, we were holding on to him, trying to shield him, protect him.”
The couple was shocked by how suddenly the impact happened and said they were also appalled at the dog owner’s comments. Jennifer said: “It happened so quickly, and it was just a shock, really. It was quite a nasty bite, and it bit through my clothes obviously and broke the skin. So I just yelped, and said to him [dog owner], ‘your dog has bitten me’ and he wasn’t at all concerned, no interest at all.”
Tony added that the male owner of the dogs instead told the couple that Bow should have been harnessed. He said: “As he walked away, he shouted that our dog Bow, the two-year-old, should have been on a muzzle [but] our dog had no intent on harming anyone, was on a lead and a harness, and was stationary. It was his dogs that had neither of them… and in fact, somebody has already texted us to say that they were there with their child at the time and they heard this guy shouting at us as he went away.”
While Jennifer said the first few days were extremely painful, she is better now even though the injured area still has some scarring. The couple said they were very grateful to both the police and the A&E staff for the prompt service they received.
The incident was reported to Dyfed Powys Police which said that the investigation is now closed and “no suspect identified.” A full statement read: “Dyfed-Powys Police received a report that a woman had been bitten by a dog, described as a black, white, and tan Bernese Mountain dog, near the North Dock at Llanelli Millennium Walk on Thursday December 26 at around 2.30pm.
“The woman sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment. All lines of enquiry have now been completed with no suspect identified. The victim has been informed of this decision and has been provided with suitable safeguarding advice and informed that although the investigation is now closed, it can be re-opened if any new evidence comes to light, or the suspects are identified.”