An elderly woman has been left shaken and facing a hefty vet's bill after her Chihuahua was attacked on their morning walk.

Eastern Daily Press: Chico the Chihuahua was attacked by another dog while walking with his owner Betty Williams in Brandon. Courtesy of Linda Colley.Chico the Chihuahua was attacked by another dog while walking with his owner Betty Williams in Brandon. Courtesy of Linda Colley. (Image: Archant)

Betty Williams, 83, was walking her dog Chico along London Road in Brandon at around 10.30am on July 31 after a walk through the woods.

She was about to cross the road on her way back to her home in Woodlands Rise when a large black dog leapt from a car at the kerbside and attacked her much smaller pet.

Mrs Williams said: 'All of a sudden I heard a bloke shouting the name of a dog, and this dog just jumped on my little one and shook him like a rabbit. I'd put him on a lead, so he couldn't get away.

'It happened so quickly. If the other dog had a collar on I might have been able to yank him away, but I just couldn't.

'It's awful when your dog is screaming and all you want to do is get the other dog off him. I was really distressed.

'The bloke eventually came over and dragged his dog off, and just walked away. I had to pick up my dog and carry him home. I had blood on my clothes.

'What upset me more was that this man never offered to help or apologised.'

Following the incident seven-year-old Chico had to be transferred to a specialist hospital in Newmarket where he underwent a five-hour operation on various injuries including broken ribs. The surgery has left Mrs Williams with a £5,000 bill, but it was successful and Chico is now back at home after a week recuperating in hospital.

Mrs Williams said: 'I want people to be aware that there is a dangerous dog going out in the Brandon forest, because I would not want anyone to go through what I went through.'

A Suffolk Police spokesperson said they received reports that a woman was walking home from the woods along London Road when a long-haired black dog ran from a car and attacked her dog, grabbing the smaller animal and shaking it.

A man, possibly in his 20s, then came up to separate the dogs, took the black dog and walked off. He is described as about 5ft 7in tall with scruffy hair and may have been wearing jeans.

The local Safer Neighbourhood Team has been notified.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 101 quoting reference CAD 270 of July 31.