A DOG owner was left with a £350 veterinary bill after his Yorkshire Terrier was allegedly attacked by a neighbour’s canine.

The incident is believed to have happened at about 8.30pm on Monday evening in Shelfinch, Toothill, when Nick Gregory’s wife Angelina was putting the bins out, accompanied by the couple’s two-year-old terrier, Scruff.

The couple allege that at the same time, a young girl was outside with a bull mastiff, which is not believed to have been on a lead, when it ran towards Scruff and attacked him, biting him around the stomach causing him to suffer from serious wounds.

Nick, 40, said: “He is lucky to be alive.

“It is fortunate that it got him around the softer part of his body – if it had been his chest he would have been a goner.

“Luckily he just got away with a nasty wound and some bruising after I ran out and managed to get the dog off of him.

“My dog is only a little Yorkshire Terrier, so he wasn’t going to hurt anybody.

“He’s recovering now, but it really scared him, he is completely petrified but hopefully he will make a full recovery.”

Nick is now warning people to be extra vigilant with their children, as well as their pets, to prevent a further incident.

“It is not going to be long before this dog atatcks a child,” he said.

“I believe this is the second time it has attacked another dog that people know about, so sooner or later it will be a person.

“It is never kept on a lead, it doesn’t even have a collar around its neck or anything.

“It is always out and about – dog owners need to have a bit more respect, and be careful.

“I think even if you had your own dog on a lead, this one would attack it, it just came up to Scruff and grabbed him between the legs. It is quite an intimidating dog, especially for young children and it plays quite close to the park.”

The incident has been reported to Wiltshire Police.