A GUIDE dog is lucky to be alive after he was savagely attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier in a busy town centre.

Shoppers watched in horror as Elton, a fully trained guide dog for the blind, was mauled as he led his owner Emma Keen along Chatham High Street on Thursday afternoon.

Elton had to undergo emergency surgery and may need counselling to get his confidence back to work as a guide dog again.

It was the second attack by a Staffordshire bull terrier in Medway in just five days.

Dean Hicks, 11, of Dunkirk Drive, Chatham, is still nursing wounds to his torso after a dog bit him last weekend.

In this latest incident, the terrier grabbed Elton around the neck with his teeth and would not let go.

Speaking from their home in Winchelsea Close, Emma, 29, said: "It was so frightening. Elton was yelping but I couldn’t make out what was going on or how he was.

"The next thing I knew he went all limp and silent and I thought he was dead. I thought the terrier had killed him."

One eye witness, who didn’t want to be named, said: "It was horrible. There was blood everywhere. People were screaming and trying to pull the terrier off the guide dog. The lady with the dog was in tears."

Elton needed six stitches to two large wounds and the Gillingham vet who treated him said he was lucky to be alive; a smaller Labrador would have been hurled about by the terrier and could easily have died.

The guide dog association is visited Elton on Monday to see how he is coping.

Emma said: "He could be too traumatised to meet other dogs and may not be able to lead me any more.

"The association is going to give him some coaching to get his confidence back, but if it’s unsuccessful he may have to retire. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to this as he is my independence and without him I can’t get out of the house.

"It would cost the association another £35,000 to train a new dog for me and it could take up to a year for them to find me a replacement. I just hope he recovers fully and regains his confidence and I can keep him with me."

The Staffordshire bull terrier is now in the care of police.

A spokesman for Medway Police said: "The Staffordshire bull terrier was surrendered by its owner into the care of Kent Police. A decision on its future has not been made at this time."