A BLIND man has told of his distress when his guide dog was viciously mauled by another animal.
Kevin Nugent, 34, of Beresford Avenue in Wembley was walking his Labrador Orlando on May 18 when the frightening incident happened.
Mr Nugent said the animal appeared as if from nowhere and sunk its teeth into four-year-old Orlando's neck.
He desperately tried to prize the dog away from Orlando, but the attack continued for two to three minutes before the dog let go.
Mr Nugent, who works as an IT tutor for the Middlesex Association for the Blind, said: "We were out walking right near where I live, on a bridge, and the dog just came up from behind us.
"It was basically clamped around my dog's neck. After a few minutes of the attack, the owner of the dog just strolled up, he got his dog and just walked away."
Mr Nugent is registered blind, but has some vision, and he could make out enough of the incident to give an account to the police.
He thinks the dog was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but he could not provide a description of the owner.
Shaken and upset, Mr Nugent carried his dog onto the bus and took him to the vet for treatment.
Orlando has suffered deep cuts to his neck.
The loving pet is now "off sick", meaning that Mr Nugent cannot go to work and has had to take at least a week off work to look after him.
He added: "It was very distressing and it took me a long time to calm down. I was too shocked to speak to the police at first."
Natasha Fleming, Guide Dogs' London service delivery manager, said: "We were saddened to hear about what happened to guide dog owner Kevin Nugent and his guide dog Orlando.
"There is an average of seven attacks on guide dogs by other dogs every month. We believe that an attack on an assistance dog should be considered an attack on the person, to reflect the fact that a guide dog is a vital mobility aid and that such attacks are very distressing for people who are already vulnerable."
A spokesman for Brent Police said: "Enquiries are ongoing to trace the dog and the owner."
Anyone with information can contact the police using the non-emergency 101 number. Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
