A PENSIONER has been left facing a vet bill of more than £1,000 after he and his pet pooch were savaged by a bloodthirsty dog during a terrifying attack.

William Reid, 71, was walking to the bookies with Jess – his faithful Yorkshire Terrier – when they were pounced on.

The attack, which took place in Barrhead town centre on Monday morning, left William with painful injuries to his hand, while Jess was left with a badly broken leg.

A large dog, described as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier/Pitbull cross-breed, was responsible for the attack.

William told the Barrhead News: “I was away to pick up a winning line from William Hill and, when I reached the corner at Farmfoods, there were about three or four people standing and this big dog in the middle.

“It burst out of the crowd and roared forward on my wee Yorkie. I dived in to try to free her. Others were trying to help too. People were hitting the dog, kicking it, but it wouldn’t let go.

“Stupidly, I put my hands down to its jaws and it let my dog’s leg go but grabbed my hand instead.

“There was blood everywhere – from both me and my dog.”

Jess was fortunate to survive the horrific ordeal but William fears a small child might not have been so lucky.

He added: “I’m quite a big chap but what if it had been a wee kid who was attacked? It would have been a different story.

It had more muscles than Arnold Schwarzenegger

“You read about it all the time – a kid wouldn’t have stood much chance.

“The dog that attacked us was huge – it had more muscles than Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Straight after the incident, a man was seen walking away from the scene with the vicious hound.

A woman who had witnessed the attack drove William and Jess to a nearby vet for treatment.

“There was a crowd at the vet surgery but we got seen straight away once they saw what had happened”, William added.

“The vet wouldn’t let me leave until my hand had been treated, which I thought was nice. Jess has had her leg broken in two places and a lot of lacerations.

William suffered injuries to his hand

"She was very badly shaken and was terrible on the night of it. She’s the friendliest dog in Barrhead as well, it’s just a shame.”

Jess is recovering from a broken leg

William, who has yet to cash in his winning bet slip of £52, admits the hefty vet bill is another headache he could do without.

He said: “The chances of being recompensed are almost zero.

“I would rather see my dog is alright, though.”

A police spokesperson confirmed they are aware of the incident.