SIX-month old puppy Cookie lost an eye after a vicious dog attack at Coate Water Country Park last week and police are now looking to track down the culprit’s owner.

The Allen family had been walking the Shih Tzu at the beauty spot last Wednesday when a Staffordshire bull terrier approached it along the dirt path close to Broome Manor Lane.

It is said the dog was not on a leash and its owners made no attempt to intervene as it pounced on Cookie and sunk its teeth into his face.

Cookie’s owners screamed and separated the pair, before immediately running to seek medical help due to the obvious severity of the injuries.

Kate Allen, 26, was walking the dog with her boyfriend when the attack happened.

“It was around 4pm when we were walking along the dirt path, and we had Cookie on his lead as he was happily playing around in the grass,” she said.

“This Staffy walked over, and there were some people walking quite a distance behind him who seemed to be his owners.

“It just walked over and knocked Cookie over onto his back. It just made one bite to his face and that was it. Cookie was yelping and I just leaned down and screamed at it so it would look up at me. That give my boyfriend enough time to grab our dog from under it.

“The owners then came over and grabbed their dog by the collar, which didn’t have a lead on. We just started running to get our dog help. As soon as it happened I called my mum to find out who his vets were. We came across another family walking some little dogs and told them not to carry on walking that route.”

Cookie was operated on on Monday, with the eye removed at Eastcott Vets.

“The main injury was the instant trauma caused by the bite to the eye,” said Kate.

“They hadn’t been able to detect any vision in the eye, it wasn’t punctured, but there was a huge amount of damage and swelling.

“In hindsight I wish we had stopped to get details from the owners, but it was horrible how much pain he was in and we just needed to get help. I have since seen the CCTV back, and we are giving out flyers to other dog walkers to help us find who it was.”

Kate said the terrier was being walked by a white woman with short black hair. She was wearing a distinctive purple jacket with a white triangle detail on the shoulders. She was also wearing black wellingtons with a bright pink stripe around the top of the boots.

The woman was accompanied by a large man in a white T-shirt and blue shorts.

Another female with brown hair and wearing a bottle green hoodie and brown tassled sandals was also with them.

The Staffordshire bull terrier was dark with white markings, a white chest and a single white, left front paw. The dog was wearing a red collar but no lead at the time of the attack.

Cookie was immediately hospitalised and received 24-hour care and pain relief in the form of morphine and methadone.

Anyone with any information or recognise the description of these people and their dog should call the police on 101.