Rider's dog attack fear
A HORSE rider has recounted her horror at being chased for two miles by a pitbull on the Spen Valley Greenway.
And just a day later, Anya Dawson was attacked again by another dog and abused by its owner, who pushed her down a steep banking.
Miss Dawson, 41, was riding her horse Ruby towards Cleckheaton when she came across a young woman with two pitbulls. Miss Dawson asked the woman if they were horse-friendly, and she said they were.
However, the tan coloured pitball then wriggled free of its owner's grasp and pounced, causing the horse to bolt.
"It must have nipped Ruby's back leg as she bolted towards home," Miss Dawson said.
"I was screaming at people to get out of the way and I was also screaming at the dog, but it was not deterred in the slightest.
"When Ruby came out of her bolt and we slowed down, the dog zig-zagged in front of us then went behind, pushing us on.
"People were shouting at me to slow down as they couldn't always see the dog chasing us – and I couldn't slow down as the dog would have gone for Ruby without a doubt."
Another horse rider eventually managed to stop the dog and while Miss Dawson was shaken, Ruby suffered only minor injuries.
She said: "I reported it to the police, who were really good and understanding, but it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack as I do not know where the dog and its owner live."
To compound her miserable weekend, Miss Dawson ventured back onto the Greenway the following day to take her dog Daisy Do for a walk, when a spaniel attacked the pair.
Miss Dawson was attempting to swat the dog away with a nylon lead, when its owner began hurling abuse at her.
The man pushed her hard enough that she fell backwards down a banking. After stumbling back up and suffering further abuse, the two dog owners went their separate ways.
Miss Dawson added: "Needless to say, I don't go anywhere near the Greenway any more.
"I have walked on there for 10 years but it is getting worse and it's not just the dogs that are getting more aggressive, the owners are just as bad."
Sustrans Greenway warden Gordon North said: "The Greenway is not a public right of way. People can use it if they do so responsibly and dogs should be on a lead at all times.
"We get around 100,000 cyclists and even more walkers using the Greenway every year, so when incidents like this happen it can be very upsetting."
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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