The owner of a Jack Russell says his beloved pet was mauled by two larger dogs.

Mark Simon, 58, was walking Karlie through Herne Bay’s Memorial Park when he claims she was pounced on by the akitas.

He and the owner of the other dogs had given each other a wide berth, but one of the akitas managed to break its lead.

“One of them came loose and grabbed Karlie in its mouth,” he said.

“She was yelping and squealing; it was a horrible sound.”

The owner of the akita rushed over with the other dog still attached to a lead, but as he approached it Mr Simon says it started to attack Karlie as well.

“One of them gripped her on the underbelly, while the other was biting her along her spine,” Mr Simon continued. “She was absolutely covered in blood by this stage and I managed to get one of them off by kicking it and I was whacking the other with my leather folio.

"When it opened its mouth to get a bigger bite, I grabbed Karlie.”

The ordeal lasted two minutes before Mr Simon managed to grab Karlie and run to his car, ignoring the other man’s offer to help.

He drove straight to the Corner House Vets in Canterbury Road, where Karlie was operated on for three hours.

She suffered a broken rib and puncture wounds to her chest cavity and one of her lungs, which had also collapsed.

“There was blood everywhere; we thought she was gone because she looked such a mess,” Mr Simon said.

“She had so many holes along her body that they weren’t sure whether they could find all of them.”

Mr Simon reported the attack to the police but later decided not to pursue a prosecution, fearing the akitas would be put down.

“If Karlie attacked another dog it would break our hearts if she had to be put down,” he said.

"She had so many holes along her body" - Mark Simon

“I said to the owner ‘can you promise me from now on that both of those dogs will be harnessed and muzzled when you’re walking them in public areas? If you promise faithfully that you’ll do this we won’t take it any further.

“I don’t know if our decision is wrong or right; it’s tortured us because we’d feel bad if they were to do that to someone else’s dog.”

The owner of the akitas paid the insurance excesses on the veterinary bills.

After a course of antibiotics and painkillers, Karlie’s condition has improved and she is due to have a check-up next week.

Mr Simon’s partner, Donna Mardon, said: “She’s been amazing; she’s just gone from strength to strength.

“We couldn’t believe that she’d recover this well.”

The owner of the akitas claims Mr Simon's dog lunged towards his first, causing his male akita to jump forward, snapping its collar and breaking free.

He denies that his other akita, a female, played any part in the attack, which he describes as a "nasty accident".

He says he paid the insurance excesses because he felt bad after seeing the injuries caused to the Jack Russell, but is adamant his dogs were not at fault.