A Dunbar couple were left horrified after their nine-year-old Maltese dog was left with bite marks to his ear after a scrap at a local beer garden.
Mary Mayer, along with her husband Thomas, were enjoying a walk in the East Lothian seaside town when they decided to stop for a bite to eat at the Hillside Hotel with their dog Cheeky.
Mary, who suffers from mobility issues, says that they often stop regularly so that she can complete longer walks with her beloved pooch.
The trio sat themselves away from a group of around six people with two dogs as Cheeky has grown nervous after being attacked by another dog two years ago.
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But to their shock, what appeared to be an English bulldog came bounding over to their table with the lead still attached.
This gave the pair an awful surprise which caused them to jump and for Thomas to try to grab their furry family member.
Amid the panic, a pint was spilled and the glass was smashed on the floor - causing several shards to spray across the floor.
After the rammy settled - Thomas noticed that Cheeky had blood flowing from his ear which the vet later confirmed had "puncture marks" inside it.
On their ordeal Mary said: “This is the second incident in two years involving Cheeky and he never leaves our side as a result.
“My husband and I went out for a walk and I have issues with mobility so I need a seat to do it in stages.
“We went into the beer garden in the Hillside Hotel Dunbar when we spotted two dogs under a table that had six people around it.
“We made our way to the table furthest from them on the opposite side of the garden as Cheeky is nervous and we wanted to have distance.
“My husband and I had a bite to eat but the next thing we know there is this English Bull Dog breed bounding over to us.
“I screamed and jumped but my husband had his back to me so he did not see it coming but he reacted to myself getting a shock.
“He knocked the beer and it went flying as did the bench he was sitting on.
“I took my eyes off the dog so I never saw whether there was contact or not but my husband scooped our dog up as we were just so shocked.
“The owner of the dog came over and picked up their dog. But he never said sorry and never asked if the dog was ok. I did not know what to think and was a bit stunned.”
Mary said that they did not want to cause any trouble but that they were looking for the owner to accept some level of responsibility.
After a while the man came over to offer to replace the smashed drink and to clear up the broken glass.
Mary explained to the man that she would need to get his details in case Cheeky had to visit the vet for treatment.
The man obliged before making his way back to his table.
Mary adds: “When we tried to lift up Cheeky’s ear he was squealing and in pain. Blood was visibly coming from it.
“We had to take him to the vet after returning home as he started to develop a fever. He was given anti-inflammatory painkillers and antibiotics which cost us around £105.
“I attempted to contact the man but he only responded once we said we would be going to the police if he did not respond.
“But unfortunately he failed to take responsibility and would not pay for the vet bill.
“I feel we are very understanding people as we know that anyone can lose control of a leash but ultimately owners should be taking responsibility for this.
“We were really shocked by his reaction as he started to tell us that his dog had only come over to play and that we had tunnel vision of the incident.
“The police said that it was not a matter for themselves but to contact the dog warden which is what we will be doing.
“We spoke to a man who witnessed the event and he agreed that the dog came bounding over towards us and caused the issue to take place.
“The vet confirmed that Cheeky had puncture marks inside his ear.
“Cheeky is emotionally damaged by this and we have been left out of pocket.”
