Payout to family after mower rips leg off pet dog

A FAMILY has won compensation after part of their dog’s leg was ripped off by a lawnmower during a walk on a common.

Ralph Goldstein told how he was exercising his niece’s cockapoo, Orla, around Putney Cricket Club on Putney Common when a ride-on mower driven by a groundsman collided with the animal.

He said he and his daughter managed to avoid the mower but Orla became trapped under the razors. He was injured freeing the two-year-old pet from the machine and had to have metal pins inserted into his fingers.

Mr Goldstein, 68, who runs a venture capital company, said: “It was horrendous and traumatic. One minute we are walking along, the next there’s a mower c o ming a t us a nd dr iv i ng through us.

“My daughter and I got out of the way but Orla came under it. As I attempted to release Orla I suffered injuries.”

The pet was fitted with a prosthetic limb at Fitzpatrick Referrals, in Guildford, which features on Channel 4’s Super vet s e r i e s . Mr Goldst e i n, of Barnes Village, said he had to battle the cricket club for his costs, including vet fees and his medical bill, which was £6,000.

Nine months after the incident in June last year, his family received £28,000 from the club’s insurance company, which included compensation. “All I wanted was for the club to apologise but instead they tried to make out I was culpable,” Mr Goldstein said.

Putney Cricket Club confirmed it had settled with Mr Goldstein. Its chairman Mike Curtis said it was the dog that ran into the mower’s path: “It was a tragic accident. We regret it took place and we’ve apologised.”