David from the Forest of Dean writes an eye-witness account about the death of Cara the greyhound, the first dog in Britain killed by a wild boar
"I would like to add a bit about the dog that was killed [Cara, the greyhound] - because I was there! The local rag’s reportWarning after wild boar savages rescue greyhoundled us to believe the dog was acting like anyone else's dog would, and it was savaged to the point of no return due to no fault of the dog or the owner....well...
I was on a walk with my dogs when a FC ranger pulled up and asked me to look out for Cara (the dog in question) as she was lost. Her owner was in tears back in the car park at Beechenhurst about a mile away. Obviously the dog had been lost for some time.
After he left me I became aware of dog barking loudly in the conifer plantation right next to me. I knew immediately what was happening - the dog had scented down a boar! I called for the dog repeatedly, and would have run towards the dog had it not been for my elderly dogs being unable to walk into the woodland in question. The dog barked incessantly and aggressively for about
15 minutes until eventually the predictable finale of a high pitched squeal. I knew the dog had been attacked.
I returned back to my car in the hope of telephoning the FC but I met back up with a birdwatcher who I set off on my walk with (I can supply the name), who informed me about the incident (not knowing I already knew). I asked about the dog which he saw and told me its injuries didn't look serious. The owner was with the dog and they were off to the vet for a check over. The next day the local rag informed us all the dog was killed by a boar rather than the dog attacking the boar with the inevitable consequence. No mention of the dog returning to the owner seemingly well.
Make of it what you will, but not so straightforward as the press have reported. The dog was attacking the wild boar, not the contrary as we are led to believe. I haven't been to the rags about this - what's the point? People here have made their mind up one way or the other."
All the best,
David Slater