A devastated Edinburgh dog owner has told how her poodle was brutally attacked by another pooch.
Erin Johnson, 25, was forced to fend off the other dog as it lunged at seven-year-old Reece while out for a walk in the city centre on Monday.
The cash-strapped student has been left with a whopping vet bill as Reece recuperates at home.
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Reece assists Erin, who suffers non-epileptic seizures due to a deficiency in her nervous system.
The history student and her four-legged friend were walking down West Richmond Street in the sunshine on Monday afternoon when Reece uncharacteristically stopped suddenly.
This was moments before another dog launched in attack, biting at Reece’s shoulder and inflicting three puncture wounds, as well as abscesses.
Erin told Edinburgh Live: “We were walking along West Richmond Street on the way to get some dinner and she stopped suddenly, which isn’t like her.
“I’m not really sure where this dog came from but it was just biting at her and I couldn’t get it off of Reece. I kicked at it a few times, which I feel really bad about because I love dogs but I just didn’t know what to do to help her.
"It let go but then it grabbed at her again. It took the owners more than 30 seconds to respond, at which point they just turned around and faced the wall, acting like I wasn’t there.
“I told them I was phoning the police and once they heard me talking to the handler they started walking away. I wasn’t sure if they were just trying to get to a quieter area and get their dog to calm down, so I followed them to Nicolson Square Gardens.
“Once I got off the phone, they still refused to really acknowledge me and just told me to go away a few times, which I did because I didn’t want to follow a stranger.”
The student, originally from America, took Reece to the vet the next day, where she was faced with a bill of almost £120 in order to get her dog the treatment that she needed after the attack.
She said: “I’m a grad student, so I didn’t have the money. And that’s not even taking into account the follow ups, I don’t know how much this will all cost in total.
“Paying that money has really maxed out my budget. I’m over the edge and I don’t really know what I’m going to do.”
Reece is vital to Erin being able to complete everyday tasks, but the incident has the owner fearful that her dog’s confidence could be knocked. She also expressed a concern over people fraudulently claiming their dogs are for service as it could harm the perception of these crucial animals more widely.
Erin added: “She was actually attacked by another dog recently. Assistance dogs need to be confident because they almost need to navigate the world as a human would.
“My main worry is getting her confidence back. She just doesn’t seem herself just now. We live in student accommodation and the people in the building have commented that she seems more fearful and distant.
“People pretending their dogs are for assistance for their own convenience really harms actual assistance dogs. People saw the attack and now might think service dogs shouldn’t be in public places because that dog was marked as one.
“If people stop letting assistance dogs in shops or other spaces, that really affects my independence and it’s just not right.”
Police have been in touch with Erin to gather further details and their enquiries are ongoing.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We received a report of a dog attacking a service dog on Nicolson Street, Edinburgh around 4.25pm on Monday, 29 May, 2023.
"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances."
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