Hampshire 'hero' pet owner fights off two knife-wielding dog thieves in Knowle village

Two men sprang out of bushes at the 6ft 3in animal owner on the secluded footpath in a village road at night armed with a Stanley knife, telling their victim: we’re taking your dog.

But they did not bet on Sarra Parker’s husband’s ability to fight them off one-handed while clutching the three-year-old dog’s lead close to him.

Police are now hunting the two would-be thieves who inflicted ‘relatively superficial' cuts on the victim’s hands in the struggle in Knowle Road, Knowle, at around 6.40pm on Saturday.

Sarra told The News: ‘He’s a very reluctant hero.

‘My husband received relatively superficial cuts from the Stanley knife, but will be fine. He did really well fighting off the two men with one hand whilst somehow keeping hold of our dog.’

She said the men were in their 20s, wearing black hoodies and had possibly spotted her husband earlier, lying in wait for him.

Sarra said she was ‘horrified’ by dog crime, and people had contacted her since she posted on social media saying they too had been victims.

She added: ‘We don’t believe we were particularly targeted, we don’t have a regular dog walking routine

‘He thinks they spotted him when he went to the clothing bank in the village and started to head out, they jumped out of bushes ahead of him.

‘Although it’s the main road in, the footpath is set back from the road and it’s very dark.’

Posting on Facebook after the incident, Sarra said: ‘They picked on the wrong man.’

READ NEXT: Number of Covid deaths at QA Hospital rises to 441

The spayed dog is a ‘desirable breed’ but the family did not want to give further details for fearing of attracting dog thieves.

Hampshire police have now appealed for witnesses.

Winchester police said: ‘We would encourage people to report any suspicious activity, or dog thefts, to police by calling 101.

‘If you have any information about this incident, please phone 101 with the reference 44210001785.’

Call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 with any information.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.