Police horse injured in Victoria Park dog attack
Police Horse Urbane will be ‘back to Bow in good time,’ recovering from bite wounds to his leg and torso after being attacked by dog in Victoria Park.
A police horse has been injured by a dog attack while on patrol in Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets Police confirm.
A video that went viral on TikTok shows a one-year-old American Bulldog XL attacking the horse, known as Urbane, who was on patrol in Victoria Park with another horse and two mounted officers.
Urbane suffered bites to his leg and torso and is recovering at the police horse training centre in Imber Court, Thames Ditton. Local Police announced on Twitter that he will be ‘Back to Bow in good time.’
Footage of the attack shows the dog, who was not on a lead, jumping up to bite Urbane’s torso, before the horse buckles as the dog clamps its jaw around his leg.
A man can be seen trying to break up the attack by hitting the dog with a large stick, and another passerby eventually pulls the dog away allowing the police officer to dismount unharmed.
On Thursday the Met Police Taskforce posted photos of Urbane’s wounds on Twitter, writing: ‘We can’t stress enough how important it is to keep dogs on a lead if you can’t recall them or get them under control. Huge thanks to members of public who tried to help Urbane.’
The dog, called Coco, was seized by the Police and remains in kennels. No arrests have been made.
For some happier content about our local police horses, find our photoessay of Bow’s Police Stables.
I think that the owner of the dog should be sent to prison and the dog should receive training at the owner’s expense and then a new home should be found for the poor creature. It is time that such ‘owners’ be banned-for-life in owning a dog.