Two injured in Elche Rottweiler attack

THREE Rottweilers savaged two employees at an Elche service station after escaping from a nearby footwear warehouse.

Just after 7 am on December 26, the first victim was on the forecourt when he was pounced on by the dogs. “I was approaching one of the pumps when they came running round the corner towards me,” the employee later recalled.

“One bit me on the thigh and I kicked it but lost my balance and fell. Then the others joined in.”

The Rottweilers were distracted by the arrival of a van and three other service station employees. Alerted by his cries they ran outside and armed with what came to hand – wastepaper baskets and traffic cones – managed to drive them away.

Amongst them was the wounded man’s wife. “I saw my husband on the ground and ran to him, trying to beat the dogs off without thinking twice about it,” she said afterwards. Two dogs ran away, but the biggest and most aggressive turned on the woman and bit her arm before escaping.

The employees took refuge inside the service station, warning clients over the loudspeakers to remain in their vehicles while the dogs were at large. Police later rounded up the dogs without difficulty and the two employees were taken to Vinalopo hospital for treatment.

The dogs were supervised at all times, claimed a lawyer representing the owner of the warehouse. Two fences round the property were examined daily and the dogs must have escaped during a break-in, he said.

Photo credit: El coleccionista de instantes

But this was not the first time the dogs had run loose, maintained workers and business owners in the area, who said the Policia Local had frequently been called on to intervene in the past.

By Linda Hall