Dog owners in Poplar who are shocked at the savage killing of a pet poodle in the park have launched a memorial fund.
Anna Guglielmi was walking through Bartlett Park with her tiny three-year-old poodle Ruby when she let her off the leash in the dog enclosure.
The pooch was then attacked by three dogs who Anna claims were out of control.
“Two of the dogs charged towards us,” the 32-year-old marketing researcher told the Advertiser.
“I picked Ruby up but two dogs jumped up at me. I tried to protect her and started screaming. Both vicious animals were laying into Ruby, biting into her.”
A passer-by tried to get the dogs off, but was attacked himself.
“He had to yank open one of the dog’s jaws and was badly bitten in the face,” Anna said. “I was also bitten on my leg and arm.
“These dogs were out of control and charging at anyone who was trying to protect Ruby.”
The attack left the poodle badly punctured and bleeding.
Anna called the police, but it was too late to save Anna’s pet that she had as a puppy.
“Ruby was still alive, but lost a lot of blood,” Anna recalled. “I was also heavily bleeding. It was a nightmare.”
Anna managed to get Ruby to a vet nearby in Morris Road. But nothing could be done.
“My dog was bleeding too much internally,” she said. “The vet couldn’t save her. I had to say goodbye to Ruby.”
Three dogs were later seized by police on Thursday afternoon, August 26, and have been impounded, Scotland Yard said.
A police spokesman said: “We can confirm that police were called to Bartlett Park on Thursday to reports of a dog having been attacked by other dogs. The poodle later died from its injuries.”
There have been no arrests.
The attack has brought a wave of sympathy in the community, with floral tributes left to Ruby from wellwishers.
A fundraising appeal has already raised £1,000 towards a memorial in the park and for pet charities.
The fund was started by law firm investigator Pippa Marshall’s Bartlett Park dog owners' Facebook group.
Pippa said: “We were all completely shocked by the attack on Ruby, who was people-focused and never confrontational with other dogs. She loved being cuddled. We're all heartbroken.”
The memorial for Ruby is also being dedicated to a 10-year-old dog called Leia, also regularly seen in the park, which died coincidentally on the same day, but from cancer.
View the fundraiser using www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-bench-for-leia-and-ruby-at-bartlett-park
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