Following a fatal attack by a bigger dog on her jackapoo, a Wallington woman launched a petition to provide a safe area for small dogs to exercise.

Now nearly a year on from the attack which took the life of her five-year-old dog Brody, Gaye Fisher will present her petition to Sutton Council's Beddington and Wallington Local Committee today (March 10).

Gaye's story dates back to May 23 of 2019. She was with Brody in Beddington Park when the large dog attacked. Brody was taken to the vets "drenched in blood" and sadly had to be euthanised.

Gaye's petition - which has been signed by more than 1,300 people - calls for a fenced off area in Beddington Park, designated solely for small dogs.

As she began to research dog-on-dog attacks Gaye found that the problem was widespread, with 1 in 7 dog owners seeing their pets attacked by another dog in 2016/17 with 64,097 dying from their injuries.

You can view the petition here

“Not only was I shocked by the extent of the problem, but there is also little being done to address it," she said.

"Dog on dog attacks are not criminal offences and whilst local authorities have the powers to issue Community Protection Notices, these measures are toothless and councils do not have the funds to resource dog patrol wardens in parks.

“Obviously smaller dogs are most likely to come off worse in any attack by a larger dog.”

As well as the petition for a small dogs area, Gaye worked with her MP at the time Tom Brake, to campaign for a national database to record attacks, for dog on dog attacks to be recorded as a criminal offence as well as a dog DNA registration scheme as a means of addressing a number of issues around ownership.

Gaye added: "Seeing a beloved pet ripped apart in front of you is highly distressing.

"It is even more traumatic for children to witness.

"Dogs make great companions for everyone but they can be the sole companion for many elderly people living alone.

"Until we see national measures introduced to promote responsible dog ownership I can only try to provide a safe space in my local park for small dogs like Brody.”