DEVIZES grandmother Jenny Otridge has appealed to a dog owner's better nature after her dog was attacked and injured by his Alsatian cross, which left her with a stiff vet's bill.

Mrs Otridge, from Addington Close, was walking her three-year-old mongrel bitch Holly on a lead in Couch Lane on the Saturday before last.

She said: "Holly was on the lead. Suddenly another dog slipped its head collar, then turned and attacked her, biting her and lifting her up by her rear."

A passing motorist took Mrs Otridge and her injured dog to McQueen's Veterinary Centre at Hopton Park. Mrs Otridge said: "As well as torn skin, muscles in her back were also torn. The bill was £81.

"I have no objection to paying it, but I thought, why should I? It is a lot of money to pay out for something that wasn't my fault.

"I am appealing to the better nature of the man who owns the other dog. He can just go to McQueen's and pay the bill anonymously and leave it at that."

As a puppy Holly was one of many pets was abandoned during the Millennium. She was taken to the RSPCA cats and dogs home at Claverton Down, Bath. Mrs Otridge, an RSPCA home checker, was so taken with the dog, she decided to re-home her.

She said: "She is a lovely, quiet-natured animal. She was on a lead and there is no way she would have attacked any other dog."