Claydon woman said attacks on guide dog 'truly terrifying'

Carolyn Allum has owned six-year-old Lea for four-and-a-half years

A woman said she was terrified her guide dog would be retired due to attacks by other dogs.

Lea, who belongs to Carolyn Allum from Claydon in Suffolk, was attacked for the second time three weeks ago in Ipswich town centre.

Ms Allum's previous service dog, Ally, was retired four years early due to attacks and she feared the same could happen again.

A spokesperson for Guide Dogs said attacks were reported every month.

Ms Allum believes aggressive dogs should not be allowed in busy public spaces.

Lea is rebuilding her confidence after being attacked twice in her service career

Lea was previously attacked on a train at Ipswich Station last summer, as well as her recent attack outside Sailmakers shopping centre.

"I just thought, it's going to kill my dog, and it was truly terrifying," said Ms Allum.

Lea was physically unharmed, as the dog that attacked her was muzzled, but it has resulted in mental trauma.

"When I'm in town with her now, if she sees a dog, she's stopping and just won't move past it."

Ms Allum is trying to rebuild Lea's confidence through continued training and socialising with friendly dogs, but said more needed to be done by other dog owners to prevent attacks.

Carolyn Allum said it could cost up to £60,000 to train and maintain a guide dog

Her previous dog Ally, a Labrador-Retriever cross, was attacked by different dogs on six occasions, which led to her early retirement at six years old in 2018.

"She became a shadow of her former little self and couldn't work any more," said Ms Allum.

"The loss of her to me was huge, devastating to your mobility and emotionally it was really difficult - I don't want that to happen to Lea."

A spokesperson for charity Guide Dogs said: "It takes years and tens of thousands of pounds to raise and train a guide dog for someone with sight loss, and all of this work can be undone in an instant by an irresponsible dog owner.

"The Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes it an offence to own or be in charge of a dog that attacks an assistance dog, with a maximum penalty of three years in prison."

It continued that dog owners should seek professional help in training their dog, use muzzles for aggressive dogs, and keep vaccinations and parasite treatments up-to-date.