Dundee dog attack: Student's thumb ripped off in 'pit bull' attack as she tried to protect her dogs

A student had her thumb ripped off in an aggressive "pit bull" attack as she tried to protect her two dogs.

Leah Satterlee was walking her two service dogs, Siberian Husky Hamlet and Great Dane mix Atticus, in Dundee's Beechwood Park in Scotland.

A big dog she described as 'pit bull-looking' started attacking her dogs - forcing her to jump in in an attempt to save them.

Leah started throwing punches at the dog but the brawl fight wasn't stopping and the uncontrolled dog sank its teeth on her right thumb - ripping its tip off and leaving "blood everywhere".

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Since the vicious attack on January 31 the exchange student from Alabama, US, has been left "depressed" and scared when walking her dogs.

Leah, 37, said: "Anytime I am around another dog my heart starts racing and I get very nervous.

''When I do take my dogs out I make sure I to steer clear of other dogs - I'll cross streets to avoid crossing paths with other people walking their dogs.

"It has made me very unnerved, absolutely depressed. I'll wake up some mornings and for a split second forget that it's happened and then look down at my thumb and start crying. It's completely wrecked all of our self-confidence our self-esteem.

"As far as I am feeling about it I still have to remind myself that I would gladly give up a piece of my thumb to save my dogs lives - like they jumped in front and did everything they could to protect me."

Leah who is studying at University of Dundee for a semester was attacked two weeks after she arrived to Scotland.

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She explained how she and her dogs had already been attacked previously in the UK.

On the evening of January 31 Leah picked Dundee's Beechwood Park as it was a small park with a gate and seemed safe.

But to her surprise she heard a dog barking, swinging the door open and launching itself at Hamlet's throat.

When she saw this happening she and Atticus ran towards Hamlet - but it just turned into a "massive three dog fight", explained Leah.

She said: "It was dark in the park, there were no street lights anywhere to light up the park so I couldn't see where I was grabbing.

"It was all happening so fast. Finally got a hold of Hamlet's collar and the dog let go of Hamlet's throat but then turned around and started to attack Atticus.

"I am punching this dog in the top of its head with my left hand - just trying to get this dog off of mine.

"In that moment was when he bit my hand - I did not realise how bad it was at the moment. I felt that I was bitten a little bit."

She was then able to separate them and got her dogs attached to the gate. But then she looked down and saw that her thumb was missing.

Leah added: "I absolutely panicked. In that moment I felt immediately nauseous - I couldn't breathe I wanted to throw up.

"I started looking in the ground and I found my severed thumb. There was blood everywhere - all over both of my dogs and most of it was my blood.

"The only clean bag that I had was a poo bag - I took out a clean bag and put the thumb in it and tight it up. Unfortunately they were not able to reattach it."

The police and the ambulance arrived and took her to the local hospital.

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She required reconstructive surgery, with the tip of her digit missing down to the nailbed.

Surgeons had to shave off bone that was exposed and dead nerve tissue, then pull skin over the exposed area to close it.

After staying in hospital for four days, Leah said now half of an inch her thumb is missing but a nail started growing.

Leah's dogs were also left with puncture wounds and swelling.

She said: "The police stayed in the park with my dogs for four hours and I just cannot express how grateful I am that the police stayed there and took care of them for me because I was not able to.

"The police ended up taking both dogs to the emergency vet to get them checked out."

Leah said the incident has left her anxious when she is around other dogs - adding she is constantly on the watch to check if other dogs approach them.

She said: "Anytime I am around another dog my heart starts racing and I get very nervous. When I do take my dogs out I make sure I to steer clear of other dogs - I'll cross streets to avoid crossing paths with other people walking their dogs.

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"It has made me very unnerved, absolutely depressed. I'll wake up some mornings and for a split second forget that it's happened and then look down at my thumb and start crying. It's completely wrecked all of our self-confidence our self-esteem.

"As far as I am feeling about it I still have to remind myself that I would gladly give up a piece of my thumb to save my dogs lives - like they jumped in front and did everything they could to protect me."

Three months on, the dog and its owner have still not been found, according to Police Scotland.

Leah now wants to bring awareness to the "horrors of bad dog owners" and the lifelong damage they can cause their dog and owners.

She said: "I have described it as a pit bull just because of the build of the dog from what I could see. I don't want to point the figure inaccurately because I have been around pit bulls a lot and they are super sweet dogs.

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"It is not a dog issue it is an owner issue. But I would say I think it is a pit bull."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "At 8.10pm on Friday, 31 January, 2025 we received a report of a woman injured by a dog at a park near Calderwood Close, Lochee.

"A 37-year-old woman was taken to Ninewells Hospital for treatment and later released.

"Officers attended and extensive enquiries were carried out, however the dog has not been traced."

Leah has also spent over spent thousands since the attack on dog walkers to help her walk her dogs and on dog medications.

She has since set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs. To make a donation visit: https://gofund.me/d60dbf1b