THE owner of a dog which assaulted a lady in Henley has actually been offered a neighborhood order by the authorities — as has the victim’s partner.
Kelly Dunstall stepped forward after checking out a front-page short article about the attack in the Henley Standard.
Katherine Barrett, 26, received leak marks and scratches to her stomach and chest throughout the attack in Luker Avenue at about 10pm on March 7.
She was walking home after her shift as a carer accompanied by her partner James and their 2 Chihuahuas, Carlow and Skye, when Mrs Dunstall’s bulldog-mastiff cross Louie leapt up as it attempted to get at one the dogs.
Mrs Dunstall, 52, who resides in Luker Avenue, said she took complete duty for the truth that her 16-month-old dog had actually left his lead.
She said: “It all began outdoors my home. I’d taken my other dog, Stanley, out previously.
“Louie was looking up at me and I thought, ‘I’ll give him a quick walk’. I couldn’t find his harness so I took him on the slip collar.”
Mrs Dunstall said that Louie followed Skye, including: “I was shocked as he doesn’t run for anything.”
Mrs Dunstall said that Mr Barrett started to swear at her and kicked Louie.
She said: “He was calling me all the names. I’ve never ever been abused a lot in my life and I utilized to reside in Slough.
“He kicked my dog in the stomach and said: ‘Come and get your dog, you f*****g c**t’.
“I said to her, ‘I aint going anywhere near your husband. If my dog is stupid enough to sit there while he kicks him, that’s on him’.”
Mrs Dunstall said that as Mr Barrett followed Skye, his partner sat tight while she tried to get Louie back under control.
She said: “I said to her, ‘Stop swearing at me. I’m attempting to get his collar back on’.
“The female stood in front of me and said, ‘I’ll have your f*****g dog put down, you ain’t going to get away with this’.
“Her other dog then launched once again. Louie leapt up at the dog. She was on the phone to somebody stating she’d been assaulted. I said, ‘Stop screaming and let me try to sort him out’.
“She was shouting at the top of her lungs. If you’re in the middle of a crisis, put your phone down. It was absurd.
“Why wouldn’t she pursue her partner? Why remain where the ‘dangerous’ dog is?
“It did not need to go as far as it did. It’s all a bit much. It would have stopped there if she had gone with her husband.”
Mrs Dunstall, who copes with her 17-year-old child Ellie, transferred to Henley in August 2021. She and her late partner got Louie a number of months later on.
She said: “I got him in the October and my partner passed away in February. He was at home while I was at the hospice and he’s a really clingy dog for it.
“He’s so dopey it’s absurd. He is a charming dog however he is a discomfort in the behind.
“I just wasn’t in the right headspace then. It wasn’t a great time and it is what it is and I need to step up the training. Stanley is much better trained. He’s a good boy.”
Mrs Dunstall said that Louie presented no risk to kids and was really friendly and lively with her young grand sons.
She got in touch with the authorities as quickly as she checked out the short article and made a counter-allegation versus Mr Barrett that he threatened to eliminate her.
“We moved from Slough thinking we’d be safe here,” she said.
“I comprehend that Louie ran out control and I don’t reject that. My dog chased his dog.
“Never in my entire life have I had a neighborhood order, absolutely nothing. I’m a transportation supervisor providing chemotherapy drugs, providing them to health center. That’s going to appear on my DBS inspect.
“Because we’re carrying radioactive material, I had to tell my boss.”
Mrs Dunstall said that she would train Louie and keep him on a lead from now on.
She said: “I take complete duty for him slipping off the lead and he doesn’t go anywhere now without his harness.
“I don’t want to get rid of him, the stupid dog. My daughter really loves him — she’s like: ‘Mum, don’t be evil’. It’s not nice.”
Mr Barrett said that he “regretted” his option of language utilized at Mrs Dunstall throughout the event. He said: “The neighborhood order was most likely to the swearing that was directed by me to her since I raged.
“I are sorry for utilizing the language I utilized in the heat of the minute. I believed I’d have one dog dead or severely impaired and I returned and discovered my partner being assaulted. At completion of the day she precedes.
“If the lady had actually had the dog on the lead, none of this would have occurred.
“The police said she had witnesses saying I had caused harassment and I didn’t have a witness. It’s coming to a close, so we’re drawing a line under it and moving on.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police verified the case had actually been dealt with.
He said: “A variety of individuals stepped forward off the back of the declaration that you helpfully brought in your paper, consisting of the owner of the dog.
“This caused a counter-allegation being made. The event has actually been examined and everybody has actually been handled by methods of an out of court choice, these being neighborhood resolutions.
“Strong words of advice were given to all parties to avoid any future incidents.”
