Brighton woman tells of vicious dog attack in Kemp Town

She was bitten herself as she tried to save little cavapoo Hugo and then fainted. She has warned a child could be attacked next.

Louise, who did not wish to be fully named for fear of reprisals, was walking two-year-old Hugo in Kemp Town, Brighton, on Wednesday morning after taking her daughter, nine, to school.

“I had just dropped my daughter off at school. I went down Eaton Place and was going to do a big loop. Hugo was on a short lead,” she said.

Hugo, two-and-a-half, playing in the snow prior to the incident (Image: Louise)

Louise then spotted two big dogs further down the road, unattended and not on leads.

• READ MORE: Cavapoo mauled and woman hurt in vicious dog attack in Brighton 

She said: “The moment one of the dogs locked eyes with Hugo I knew something bad was going to happen.

“The dogs ran for Hugo and I screamed as loud as I could. They were both on him. They were shaking him like a rag doll. It was horrific. They were huge, massive.

“I was clinging to the car nearby and thinking, can I climb on top of it?

“He was being mauled, it was absolutely horrible, all I remember was blood coming out of his mouth and then I fainted."

Louise with Hugo as a puppy in 2020 (Image: Louise)

Louise was bitten through two coats and a jumper. She was taken to the nearby Royal Sussex County Hospital, where she needed seven stitches to her wounded arm, antibiotics and a tetanus jab. She is now in a sling.

“When I was at the hospital, I was told Hugo was dead,” said Louise.

“It is an absolute miracle he is alive.”

Hugo was bitten on the neck and pouring with blood.

A builder working nearby rushed to save him. He said: "I tried to stop the larger dog and it wasn't letting go, however I eventually managed to throw a metal thing on it.

"Parts of the small dog's skin had been bitten off."

He managed to release Hugo and he took him to Coastway vets in nearby Freshfield Way, Brighton, where the injured dog underwent six hours of surgery.

Coastway Vets in Kemp Town, where Hugo underwent surgery after the attack (Image: The Argus)

Hugo was taken in at around 9am on Wednesday but could not be operated on for several hours because vets feared he was too weak to be anaesthetised. He is remaining at the vets until they are sure he is safe to return home.

At the moment, there is a risk of infection and they are worried abscesses will form because of the wounds.

Now Louise is demanding action is taken to prevent such attacks from happening again.

“How could this have happened? This was a quiet residential street, where parents park to walk their children to some of the many schools nearby," she said.

“If it wasn’t me it would have been the next dog or child.”

Hugo will remain at the vets until they are sure he is safe to return home (Image: Louise)

Louise and her partner visited Hugo at the vets on Thursday and wept when they saw him.

She urged other dog owners to take care when out with their pets. She said: “I will be walking Hugo with a dog pepper spray from now on.”

Sussex Police are investigating and have said they have not seized the dogs at this stage.