Horror as woman out walking her dog savaged by pack of bloodhounds

Emily Spencer and her spaniel Piper were walking in Alltwen in the Swansea valleys when the dogs belonging to Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds attacked and left them with several bites

A woman and her furry companion were savaged by a pack of bloodhounds while out for a stroll in Wales.

Emily Spencer, along with her spaniel Piper, found themselves under attack from the Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds in Alltwen, situated in the Swansea valleys. After suffering several bites to her hands, requiring hospital treatment, Ms Spencer believes that without timely help from a passing doctor who saw her in distress, her beloved Piper might not have survived.

A spokesperson for the Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds has expressed their desire to discuss the ordeal further with Ms Spencer and acknowledged that their dogs were responsible for her injuries. This isn't the first incident involving the group's hounds reported to Mirror affiliate WalesOnline; only last year, Maddie Dunning reported spending days in hospital after a similar onslaught from the same group's bloodhounds during an outing on Black Mountain at Bannau Brycheiniog's western boundary.

When queried about the safety threat their dogs pose to the public, the Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds' spokesperson stated they've euthanised several dogs since the latest attack on Ms Spencer. Further questioning on whether the dogs were correctly trained to ensure public safety was met with the response that in their decades-long experience, the group had "never known bloodhounds to be aggressive".

Ms Spencer recounted the harrowing incident, sharing: "I was walking along a right of way path in Alltwen when I came across a B road. I put Piper on her lead and proceeded to walk along the road. As we were walking I heard a noise behind me and saw four horses, two of which were being ridden by individuals in red coats. The others were dressed in black.", reports Wales Online.

"They had a pack of more than six bloodhounds with them. Not wanting to startle the horses I pulled Piper to the side of the road. Then two of the dogs broke off from the pack and came towards me and Piper. Not thinking they posed any danger I didn't make any attempt to move."

"As soon as the dogs reached me and Piper they grabbed Piper and started trying to drag her away from me. Within moments the rest of the pack joined in biting Piper as if they were trying to tear her apart."

"I tried to intervene but then they started attacking me. Not able to get Piper away from them I put my body on top of her, holding her close to me to stop the dogs getting to her. Once I no longer felt the dogs on my body I looked up and saw the horses and the dogs walking away. Not one person from the party got off their horses and attempted to help me."

Ms Spencer recounted her ordeal, saying she was rushed to Neath Port Talbot Minor Injuries Unit and her dog Piper received emergency care at Vets Now in Llansamlet. "I received multiple bites to my hands for which I required a tetanus shot and a prescription of antibiotics," she explained.

"The wounds to my hands required cleaning for which I required gas and air due to the pain. Piper received 11 puncture wounds to her undercarriage some of the wounds so deep she required drains. She is also on a course of antibiotics and codeine for the pain. I needed to take two weeks off work due to my injuries and to look after Piper who needed around-the-clock attention. Not to mention the trauma."

She also criticised the Banwen Miners' Hunt: "A quick Google search shows this isn't the first time for the Banwen Miners' Hunt. They have demonstrated an utter lack of responsibility to train and care for their animals leading to attacks on people simply taking a walk with their dog."

In response, a spokesperson for Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds stated: "Our hunt staff were coming along the road with the hounds. They saw a lady by the side of the road with a small dog. The hounds did run up to her and at some point or another she bent over the dog. The hounds left and off we went. There was no incident as far as we were concerned just the hounds running up to her. From our point of view there was no incident but clearly that isn't right from what we know now.

"By the time we went back there later on there was nobody to be seen. She'd gone. We've been trying to contact her about it for a long time but haven't been able to. The police phoned us and I told the officer: 'If this lady has been injured as a result of anything that is our fault then we would like to compensate her.' But we heard nothing else. We've asked the police for her name and details so we could get in contact but nothing came of it. She's never contacted us. I'm very willing to investigate it now."

The spokesperson continued, expressing their concern over being unable to make amends: "This lady has clearly suffered in some way or another but we haven't been able to contact her and so we haven't been able to investigate. We have taken the bull by the horns and put these hounds to sleep. Incidents of this nature are very rare hounds are just not nasty dogs."

Ms. Spencer weighed in passionately on the matter: "I want this highlighted because it isn't right. I have family in the horse community and the actions of Banwen Miners' Hunt is putting their reputation in jeopardy a reputation they certainly do not deserve. I also find it so upsetting that these dogs are being put down. It is not the fault of the dogs that they're attacking members of the public."

Banwen Miners' Bloodhounds, known as a clean boot hunting group, maintains 20 hounds at kennels in Crynant. Routinely, the group selects 10 or 12 hounds to take on daily hunts. Proudly declaring itself as a "working man's hunt", the organisation was established almost six decades ago and expresses, via their website, a fervent wish "to see its traditions survive for many years to come".