A community farm in Salisbury is urging dog owners to be more responsible, after one of their cows was attacked by a dog.
Around 7pm on Saturday January 9, a dog broke into the fence where four highland cows were being kept, injuring one of them.
A passer-by who witnessed the attack on Cow Lane intervened to remove the dog and alert the staff at River Bourne Community Farm.
Education and marketing manager, Sara-Jane Hancock said: "The main thing I really want to say is to try and educate people that there is no such thing as a bad dog but rather owners that are not able to control their dogs.
"Dogs are completely unpredictable when faced with something they haven't seen before. You should never assume that your dog will not chase or attack other animals, it's in their nature.
"You should always keep your animal in control around livestock and we urge people to do that."
After the incident, staff at the farm had to call a vet to cut off a large flap of skin hanging off from the cow's bottom lip.
They also had to repair the broken fence.
"Things are tough enough with fewer staff trying to do things and keep [the farm] going without having to deal with things like this," Sara-Jane said, conscious of the fact "it could've been much worse" had the passer-by not stepped in to rescue the cow.
Her message to dog owners is to keep their dogs on a lead when around livestock to prevent incidents like this from happening.
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