'My dog died trying to defend me – I was screaming for help'

A quiet Cornwall dog walk became “a real life nightmare”

A “traumatised” woman who was “screaming for help” during a dog attack said her loyal cavapoo lost his life to save her own.

Kayla Colwill was on a quiet evening walk in Padstow with her three-year-old dog, Herbie, when a mixed bull breed dog “jumped a waist-height fence” and a “nightmare” unfolded.

The 27-year-old said the dog, which has since been put down, bared its teeth and was snarling before viciously attacking Herbie then turning to injure her.

Kayla said there were two dogs outside a property on Boyd Avenue as she was walking past with Herbie, when one escaped and began “shaking Herbie around”. She said she felt “completely helpless” and recalled “screaming for help”.

The escaped dog eventually let go of Herbie but then bit her on the hand, prompting Herbie to jump to her defence by biting its behind. Kayla said it then rounded on Herbie again, leaving him with a broken spine another other serious injuries that he sadly did not survive.

She said: “Herbie truly saved my life. To just have that one bite on my hand, I am so lucky to just come away with that because it could have been so much worse.”

Kayla said that during the attack the dog’s owner was holding back a second “bigger” dog from jumping over the fence, but claimed they “did nothing to help” and “stood and watched”.

She said: “I do truly think that both [dogs] could have escaped if the owner had not been there to stop the second dog. I think [the other dog] would have come for me if he had jumped the fence.

“The attack lasted about a minute but it felt like 20 years at the time. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to help, but no one was coming.”

When the dog finally released Herbie, Kayla scooped him up and ran home to her husband where they rushed him to Newquay to the vet. Kayla said they were told they were “lucky” to make it to the vet with Herbie alive. However, he had suffered puncture wounds to his stomach and a broken back.

The couple were told Herbie’s injuries were so severe that he had a “poor chance of recovery due to the degree of displacement”. The discharge summary from the vet described Herbie’s injuries as “poor to grave prognosis due to severe spinal trauma”.

He was also deemed “not stable enough” to transport. Kayla then made the difficult decision to put him to sleep. She added that it was only one hour from the time of the attack to Herbie sadly being put to sleep by the vet.

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She said the attack has left her with “severe trauma” and she “feels lost” without Herbie. Kayla also claimed the dog’s owners have not shown remorse over the attack.

However, the community has rallied around the couple, who have received flowers and neighbours have even made them meals as they confront the loss of their beloved pet.

Kayla said: “It’s a real life nightmare that we’re living at the moment. We’re just absolutely lost without our boy now. We don’t have any children so he was the centre of our whole world. But the outpouring of love from the community has been amazing.”

She said she is aware of other dog owners who have confided they now feel “on edge when they’ve been out” from fear of a similar attack.

Kayla said: “All I keep saying is that this is awful that it happened but thank god it wasn’t a child or something.”

Police confirmed a “mixed bull breed dog” responsible for the attack was seized and has been destroyed.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police added: “Another dog seized at the scene – that didn’t escape the garden and was not involved in the attack – has been returned to the owner after relevant checks were completed.”

Kayla said the police told her they are unable to do anything further as the dog responsible for the attack has been put down. She feels she and her husband “have done everything the right way” but there seems to be no resolution to prevent another tragic attack.

The couple said they feel “demoralised” after losing Herbie. Kayla said they were told by the dog warden “this would probably be ‘case closed’ because the dog responsible has been put down”.

She also claimed police no longer wanted to take a statement from her now the dog has been put down, adding: “It seems silly to have these rules in place for dangerous dogs and then nothing be acted on.”

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