A PUPPY is today recovering after he lost an eye when a larger dog lashed out at him in an Ipswich park.

A PUPPY is today recovering after he lost an eye when a larger dog lashed out at him in an Ipswich park.

The puppy's owner, Pat Potter, of Sprites Lane, Ipswich, is today urging dog walkers to keep control of their pets after the terrifying incident.

Mrs Potter and her granddaughter Chloe were walking their two dogs, including seven-month-old Oscar, in Belstead Brook Park earlier this month when the puppy was approached by a large dog, thought to be an Old English Sheepdog.

As the puppy, who was on a long lead, lay on the ground in front of him, the Sheepdog swiped Oscar's head with his paw, which caused blood to spurt out of his eye. On visiting the vets, they had to remove his eye.

After two weeks, Oscar's collar was taken off and his stitches were taken out, but he is still adapting to being partially blind.

Mrs Potter, a 68-year-old grandmother, said when the family saw blood coming from little Oscar's eye they took him straight to the vet who said the dog's eyeball had split and would have to be removed.

She said: “It has been really distressing. It is extremely sad. He is a very friendly, wonderful dog but now he has only one eye for the rest of his life.

“The experience was dreadful. I don't think this other dog did anything maliciously but because of its strength, it should have been controlled more. What if a small child had gone over and sat in front of it? You don't know what could have happened.”

This latest injury comes after a horrific attack on a four-year-old Maltese dog called Rambo in Ipswich town centre last month. The little dog was left with several holes in his head and neck, severe bruising around his neck and one ear ripped from his head following an incident with a Bull Mastiff. A few members of the public jumped in to help save him and ended up injured too.

A 17-year-old woman and a 29-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place and have been bailed pending further enquiries until August 27.

- Have you been in a similar situation? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.