‘She was clearly distressed trying to pull away from the man’: Hero dog walker saves pup after it’s grabbed by stranger

Eve Lambourne was walking six dogs when a man grabbed the harness of one claiming it belonged to him.

The incident happened around midday on Tuesday, November 17 around noon.

Eve, who walks dogs with The Woof Pack Dog Walking and Pet Services based in Livingston, had taken her charges to the Almond Valley Viaduct near Newbridge for their Tuesday morning walk.

She said: “We mix up our walks to keep it enriching as possible for the dogs, some of our walks can be in local parks,woodlands or even hiring out our local secure fields for dogs who can’t be off lead to be able to run around freely.

Eve and her dog, Echo. Picture credit: Eve Lambourne

"Tuesday was any normal day, I had my own two dogs and four clients dogs that morning.

"Everything was as it should be the dogs were playing but the weather wasn’t great, it was very windy along with raining.”

Eve explained that not long into the walk, one of the dogs suddenly got spooked, and started to make her way back to her van.

She hurried after her, quickly putting leashes on her other charges as she caught up with the run away pup.

She continued: “Eventually the dog got back to the van and I saw a white old style transit pull up so I rushed to get to her.

"Upon getting to my van I was greeted with a male in his late 40s wearing all dark clothing.

"I thanked him for grabbing the dog to his reply along the lines of “what were you doing with this dog” my confusion I answered “getting my dog who ran off” his reply was “this isn’t your dog it’s mine”.

“He held onto the dogs harness and she was clearly distressed trying to pull away from the man.

"I was cautious to not use the dogs name but my main priority was securing the dog.”

Eve, thinking quickly, unclipped the leash on her own dog Echo, a Bulgarian rescue dog who doesn’t like strangers, or men.

Echo charged at the man, barking.

The man got a fright and unhanded the terrified dog as he fled from Echo.

Eve added: “He loosened his grip for the dog to be free and I grabbed her, I quickly bundled the dogs into my van and pulled my phone out and he sped away.”

The company contacted the dogs owner to let them know about the close call, and they were grateful to hear that their dog was safe and well after the distressing incident.

A report was put in to the police about the incident, and a spokesperson from Police Scotland said: “We received a report of an attempted dog theft which happened in the Almond Valley viaduct area around noon on Tuesday, 17 November. Enquiries are ongoing.”

Eve concluded: “The dogs in our care are our top priority and I put my own dog in danger to save one that wasn’t mine, my main focus at that point was making sure all dogs got home safe.”

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