A blind woman whose two guide dogs have been attacked says she just wants to be able to “walk up a street without fear”.

Patricia Poole was popping to Sainsbury’s in Deal when she heard an aggressive growling before a large dog, believed to be a Doberman, lunged at her service animal.

Only able to make out a huge dark shape, Patricia pulled her guide dog, Narla, behind her in a bid to protect her.

While the 76-year-old from Ash near Sandwich, succeeded in preventing the attacking dog from harming the assistance animal, both she and Narla were left shaken by the ordeal last Thursday.

Patricia said: “I was walking along when all of a sudden I heard this awful aggressive growl and Narla stiffened and went down.

“I don’t have any useful sight, but I saw this big black thing almost on us and I just threw her to the side, almost falling over to protect her.

“A kind lady who witnessed it said the dog was lying down and as we walked past it just lunged for Narla.

“We checked her all over and she didn’t have any bites but I think it was more the scare than anything...”

“She spoke to the owner of the Doberman and he said Narla had spooked his dog but she is a very small retriever and when guide dogs are working they just focus on doing what they are told so she certainly didn't bark.

“In fact I didn’t know the dog was there until it jumped on her and the witness said the canine was actually baring its teeth at Narla and was inches away from her body.

“I was totally shaken up and my first reaction was to make sure that my dog was okay.

“The Sainsbury’s staff were so helpful because at that point I didn’t know if Narla was hurt.

“We checked her all over and she didn’t have any bites but I think it was more the scare than anything.”

Patricia, who speaks at schools to raise awareness for sight loss and service animals, has a reason for fearing that this incident could have a significant impact on her life.

In 2019, her previous guide dog, Zebedee, was viciously attacked by a stray and suffered bite wounds to the face.

While trying to protect Zeb, despite being unable to see the creature, Patricia received a “nasty” injury when the dog sunk its teeth into her hand.

Following this incident Zebedee began to associate wearing his harness with the fear he felt in the attack, ultimately meaning he had to be retired.

Patricia’s former guide dog remains her beloved companion and lived alongside her and Narla but she wants to avoid the same fate for her new guide.

The cost of providing a service dog to a visually impaired person can top £50,000 so incidents such as this also have economic consequences.

Patricia began to lose her sight in 2008 and is now registered blind.

Narla refused to wear her harness for several days after the event but has since shown improvement and Patricia is hopeful she will be back to her old self after lots of love and praise.

The guide dog user would like people to be more conscious of how their pets can affect service animals.

She suggests dog owners be mindful their animals don’t distract assistance animals “because any distraction is like somebody poking my eyes”.

Reflecting on the incident Patricia said: “I’ve been widowed recently so I’m on my own and if I didn’t have my dog I just wouldn’t have a life. My independence would go.

“My biggest worry was if I’d been a toddler in a buggy, and babies do make some weird noises at times, would that dog have been spooked by that and attacked a child?

“To me, attacking my dog is attacking me because it’s attacking my eyes but to lunge at a child is just unthinkable.”

She continued: “I just want to be able to get on the bus, go into a supermarket and walk up a street without fear.

“Narla’s the blood that runs through my veins because without her I wouldn’t have a life.

“I can live a normal life with my guide dog, I can go anywhere I can do anything. Without her… well it doesn’t bear thinking about.”