ONE of Jersey’s best-known sportsmen has described the terrifying moments when he was savaged by a dog bred to guard sheep from bears and wolves.
Tony Carlyon (38) says he thought he was going to be killed during the frenzied attack. The Island cricket star and former Muratti goalkeeper has been left with bite marks and bruising all over his body. Doctors said that they had never seen such deep puncture marks from a canine attack.
The animal which mauled Mr Carlyon has been put down. ‘It did not even bark,’ he said. ‘It just banged me onto the floor and started biting me on the back of my neck, on my arm and my backside. If it had locked its jaws on my throat or gone for my face, I am sure I would have died or lost an eye.
It is thought that the dog was an Anatolian Sheepdog, a breed which can weigh up to 60 kilos. The dogs were bred in Asia to guard sheep against wolves, bears and jackals, but are often used a guard dogs in the west. The attack happened on 11 July when Mr Carlyon, who is a Jersey Telecom engineer, was going to his first appointment of the day.
He went to a farmhouse on the outskirts of St Helier to ask for directions and walked around into a courtyard to look for someone to ask. The next thing he knew, he had been knocked to the floor. Mr Carlyon said that he fell face first, badly cutting his knees, and managed to roll into a ball, with his arms protecting his face.He estimates that the attack lasted around 30 seconds before the owner appeared and called the dog off.
