Bury: Police appeal after dog owner throws cat on ground in car park

Tracy Heatley, 51, has lived on Lathom Street in Bury with her cat 14-year-old Lola for more than a decade.  

In that time Lola has become a popular character in the area, often lying down outside, allowing passers-by to offer their attention and a stroke.  

But on Monday, December 5 at around 11pm, CCTV has captured a dog owner dragging Lola from under a car on the car park on Brookshaw Street/Lathom Street and then throwing her on the ground

Following the incident, Lola may suffer brain damage and lose an eye with a number of emergency vet treatments set to happen.

Lola at home after the attack (Image: Public)She said: “Lola meows at the door when she needs to go out to the toilet, I'll open it and around five to 10 minutes later she will sit on the window ledge as a sign for me to let her back it.  

“At 10.30pm (on the night of the attack), 15 minutes after I let her out I saw she hadn't come back, I didn’t think much of it and started getting ready for bed.  

“She only stays out in summer and it was freezing so when another 5 to 10 minutes went by I started to worry.  

“At 11.40pm my house phone rang and we got the call from the vets to say the police had found Lola after she was attacked by a dog.” 

Tracy was told several times during the four days and four nights that Lola spent at the vets that she would be lucky to make it until the morning. 

As well as possible brain damage and eye damage, she had blood coming from her mouth and ears, bruising on her stomach, painful and stiff back legs and snapped teeth.

Vets questioned the plausibility of a dog attack after finding no puncture marks.  

Police had originally discovered a man and his dog standing over the unconscious cat.  

Police speak to the attacker (Image: Public)

The man reportedly ran away after giving a false name and address, leaving the dog at the scene.  

It wasn’t until Tracy’s neighbours re-watched the CCTV that they discovered what happened.  

She said: “They knocked on and say Tracy watch this, it isn't as it seems.  

“I didn’t want to see my cat attacked but as I watched, you see the man and his rottweiler.

"The dog sees Lola and chases her under a car.  

“That's when the man drags Lola out by her legs and slams her into the ground over his head, something which made her injuries make sense and has her howling in pain.  

“She would have been ripped to shreds from a rottweiler attack.

"The man then forces his dog over her but the dog doesn't do anything but sniff."   

Police took the dog and CCTV footage has been gathered by officers.  

Man and his dog standing over the unconscious cat after throwing her on the ground (Image: Public)

Tracy added: “I'm an animal lover and I just want the correct person punished.  

“It wasn't the dog and I couldn't live with it if it was destroyed but my last hearing of it was that he was alive and well waiting to be temperament tested.” 

With vet bills costing more than £1,400, single mum Tracy said it is something she has struggled to pay for and ultimately had to rule out the £2,500 brain scan due to the cost and Lola's age, which would have posed surgical risks.  

A GoFundMe crowdfunding page has been set up here to help Tracy with the costs but she has said it isn't about the finances, it is about catching the man who did this to her cat before he does it to another animal.  

A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesperson said: "At around 11pm on Monday, December 5, GMP were made aware of a dangerous dog on Brookshaw Street, Bury.

"No arrests have been made at this time.

"An investigation is underway."

An RSPCA spokesperson added: “This sounds like a very distressing incident and it is sad to hear that this cat has suffered such horrendous injuries.

“Dog owners have a legal responsibility under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to keep their dog under control in a public place. 

“And if anyone has concerns regarding animal cruelty we would urge them to report this to the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.