Susan Olsen, 64, lay on top of six-month-old terrier Robbie to shield him as bigger dogs tore into him in Ibis Close, Whitstable.

The attack left Robbie with puncture wounds to his torso and legs and Mrs Olsen with blood-stained jeans.

Business secretary Mrs Olsen, of Benacre Road, said: “It was frightening. One dog was coming at a run and he attacked me before going for Robbie’s belly and biting him there.

“I tried to lie over Robbie to protect him, and then the second dog came, with still no one in sight.

“If the person walking them hadn’t turned up I’m sure they would have killed Robbie right in front of my eyes.”

Mrs Olsen’s husband Chris, 67, told how she called him in the seconds after the ordeal. He said: “She was having an asthma attack. It was absolutely terrifying for her.

“When I arrived she was sitting on the pavement and her clothes were covered in blood. Our puppy was in the road with mud and blood all over his body.”

West Highland terrier Robbie was taken to a vet for treatment for his wounds and the Olsens called police to report the attack.

The owner of the Staffordshire bull terriers, who was not the person walking them but offered to pay for the vets bill, was given advice about keeping them on leads.

Mrs Olsen said: “It’s not right that something like this can happen in a public area.”

Mr Olsen, who runs his own gas contractors firm, added: “We nearly lost our puppy and now my wife won’t walk him on her own. It was a dreadful assault.”