Harrowing footage shows the moment shoppers desperately attempt to free a dog from the jaws of another as it is savaged for 20 minutes in a busy city centre.
The Staffie-type dog can be seen with its jaws clamped around the throat of a pug while ‘tossing it around like a rag doll’ in Wolverhampton on the morning of April 9.
Brave members of the public batter the snarling hound with an umbrella and a wheel board in an attempt to get it to loosen its grip.
But the out-of-control dog refuses to release the defenceless pug from its jaws as it’s viciously mauled despite the efforts of bystanders.
The pug’s owner revealed today that her dog miraculously survived the brutal attack despite onlookers believing it was dead.
Perita Roumeliotis-Innis, 47, said she was walking two-year-old Gucci when he was mauled by what she believes was a Pitbull/Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross.
Gucci suffered horrific injuries to his neck, leg, eye, ears and body and a vet said he is ‘lucky to be alive’.
Ms Roumeliotis-Innis, who owns a vaping shop in Wolverhampton and lives in the city centre, said: ‘I was just walking towards my shop when I heard a scratching noise on the floor.
‘I turned around and saw a dog bounding towards us off the lead with its tail up and I thought ‘this isn’t good’.
‘I saw a girl standing there talking on her mobile phone but I did not know the dog was hers. She didn’t seemed too fussed at the time about what was going on.
‘Loads of people rushed to help, including several bus drivers who have said they couldn’t finish their shift afterwards – everyone thought Gucci was dead.
The Staffie-type dog can be seen with its jaws clamped around the throat of a pug while ‘tossing it around like a rag doll’ in Wolverhampton
Brave members of the public batter the snarling hound with an umbrella and a wheel board in an attempt to get it to loosen its grip
‘I was terrified. I pulled Gucci’s harness but I could not lift him. The dog grabbed Gucci by his leg and out of my hands – it kept ragging him from side-to-side.
‘I was hysterical – the dog would not let go and I’ve been so traumatised I’m now seeking help. I see it every time I close my eyes.
‘Eventually the dog was pulled free and I rushed him to the vets, I didn’t know if he would survive or not.
‘I’ve had him since he was eight-weeks-old and everybody loves Gucci. I was so worried. It was an absolute bloodbath.’
In the video people frantically shout ‘Move!’ and ‘Get off’ while a woman, who appears to be the pug’s owner, tries in vain to pull the smaller dog free.
The woman can be heard wailing in distress before the pooch eventually goes limp outside The Sunbeam pub in Wolverhampton.
The dog continues the chilling one-minute long attack and tosses the pug from side to side even as a man can be heard saying: ‘It’s dead.’
Gucci’s injuries were stapled at St George’s Vets, based in Wolverhampton city centre, and he is now on a course of antibiotics and eye drops.
The shocking video, filmed by an onlooker, was obtained by the website Birmz Is Grime, and uploaded to social media
A man hits the hound with a wooden wheel board but the dog continues to hang onto the pug
Ms Roumeliotis-Innis added: ‘He is very poorly – he has injuries all over his body. I can’t even pick him up as I am worried about hurting him.
‘He keeps flinching now and looks very depressed. I love him, I live alone and he is my companion.
‘I can’t believe this happened and I don’t want this to happen again. No dogs should be in a city centre without a lead.
‘Everyone who has seen the video has been left deeply disturbed and nobody can believe he survived such a vicious attack.
‘I had my 10 week old grandchild with me the day before and it could have just as easily have been him being mauled.
‘I have to thank the bus drivers who came to help. One woman managed to free Gucci and she could have just as easily been badly attacked. She was very brave.
‘I haven’t heard from the police yet, I need to chase them up as something needs to be done to stop it happening again. This dog is clearly dangerous.’
The shocking video, filmed by an onlooker, was obtained by the website Birmz Is Grime, and uploaded to social media.
One social media user wrote: ‘This is heartbreaking. The way it just tosses it around like a rag doll. People need to be able to control their dogs.’
Another added: ‘Poor little thing, I hope the owner is arrested and the dog destroyed. Devil dogs!’
A third put: ‘You have to blame the owner not the dog, there’s a reason it was given a taste for blood.’
Another commented: ‘This is so hard to watch. Why are so many people standing around doing nothing?’
West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment.