Vicious attack on dog in Leith

On Friday 17 May around 7.20pm, my Jack Russell cross, Rory, was subjected to a brutal attack outside Tesco on Duke Street in Leith.

He was tied up outside at the back entrance for 10 minutes while I was in the shop.

When I came out Rory was lying on the ground together with a blonde haired woman, shaking and covered in blood. A man who had been driving along Duke Street in a white van had witnessed the attack and stopped his van to help my dog.

The man told me that a drunk had come out of the Duke’s Head pub, crossed the road and approached Rory – the drunk started to kick Rory in the chest and stomach, punching him in the head and spitting on the dog.

My understanding is that the drunk was chased away by the man in the van. He then continued across the road into another pub called the Marksman. The kind man and woman comforted my injured dog until I came out. I took Rory home, called the Police and the SSPCA before taking him to the PDSA animal hospital on Hutchison Crossway. Rory was fully examined and thankfully had no serious injuries but was in a lot of pain. The vet attributed the pain to internal bruising and has prescribed him a strong painkiller to take for 5 days.

Police Scotland are carrying out a full investigation into this brutal, unprovoked attack of a defenceless animal but to no avail. I really do hope that the kind man and woman who helped Rory come forward and give a witness statement which will help catch the individual who did this. I would hate another animal to suffer unnecessarily in this way.

I have attached a picture of Rory making a recovery at home.

Submitted by Rebecca Gibb