“IT could have been a child.”

Those were the words of dog owner Susan Parker after her beloved Jack Russell Candy was dragged from her mobility scooter and “shaken like a rag doll” by a Staffordshire bull terrier close to a children’s play area.

Candy survived with cuts across her head and neck after £350 worth of surgery at the vets but Mrs Parker has been left upset and scared that a child or another dog could suffer tragic injuries at the hands of the animal.

“My friend was in the park with her grandchild and they had to witness it,” she said “It could’ve been her or another child.”

Mrs Parker uses a mobility scooter to take Candy out as she is registered disabled and suffers breathing problems including asthma and sleep apnoea.

The 48-year-old often takes her dog to the small park where she was injured, between Cornish Gardens and Slades Farm Road in Ensbury Park, Bournemouth.

“Candy was sitting on the base of my scooter next to my legs when the other dog came running up and I thought it was going to play.

“Candy barked at the dog and it just grabbed hold of her head between its jaws and shook her like a rag doll and I was shouting ‘get the dog off her’. I thought it was going to kill her.”

The man walking the dog came and held onto it but it did not let go for what felt like minutes, she said.

Mrs Parker rushed Candy to the PDSA Pet Aid hospital in Castle Lane, where Mrs Parker qualifies for care for Candy as she is on benefits and left a donation towards the two operations.

“Something needs to be done before a kid gets hurt,” Mrs Parker added.

“If it was the other way around and it was my dog which did this I would have her put down.”

Mrs Parker called the police but as it was a dog on dog attack she was referred to the dog warden and was then upset that nobody came out as it happened last Sunday.

Bournemouth Borough Council’s dog warden is investigating and has been out to visit the owner of the dog.

Rob White, head of regulatory services, said: “We are investigating this complaint and are taking the necessary action to prevent any further incidents involving the offending dog.”