Dogs killed and air ambulance called in this historic cattle attack near Ashbourne

Incident number: 1096

Response ID: 314,266,382

Date of incident: 09.07.2019

Location: Near Ashbourne (what3words) ///lavished.gear.birds

Status: Lone walker with three dogs on a lead on PRoW

This Ashbourne resident’s story

“I was walking my 3 dogs in the field when I noticed cattle grazing so I walked calmly & slowly towards them. At this stage I wasn’t frightened as I thought they are harmless creatures but then they all started to walk towards me before I knew it was on the floor being rolled. I became aware of hearing one of my dogs cry so I managed to sit upright amongst the cattle and pull my dogs towards me.

One called Mazy had been trampled to death, Marlee my second had also been trampled on but was alive just unable to move, and my third dog Burty was ok, so I unhooked them all leaving Burty to run away while I try to pick myself and Marlee up from the ground. I had to leave Mazy there.

As I stood up I was knocked again to the floor but I still held on to Marlee. By this time Burty had come back to me so I stood up holding both dogs under my arm as they were all small dogs but once again I was knocked to the floor. Burty ran under a gate that was roughly 10 yards from me, I watched him go as I just lay there thinking that’s it I’m done I can’t move due to having hurt my leg in the first fall.

Luckily two cars were lost in the same field as their sat nav took them both the wrong way so they approached that same gate near where I was laying but they couldn’t see me due to all the cows surrounding me so I managed to put my hand up in the air as I could see a car bumper near to where I was and then they saw me. They too were being attacked by the same cows but they managed to get me in their car and open the gate. I remember a motorcyclist coming towards the cars holding Burty asking if the dog belong to us. Apparently Burty ran out into the main road causing the motorcyclist to stop .

I was taken by ambulance from the side of the field to an air ambulance in the neighbouring field then taken to Stoke hospital. I suffered broken ribs, bumps to the head and cow hoof imprint on my left leg of which after many surgeries I am left with a shark bite image on that leg. At the time of the accident I was wearing a backpack that contained a flask of which saved my life.

I now suffer from PDSD from not only the accident but from losing my two best friends Marlee & Mazy”