Exercise caution

A year ago, my husband and I were walking along the greensward at Rustington when a young black Labrador came bounding up behind me, knocking me to the ground.

As I hit my head, I was knocked momentarily unconscious.

The owner of the dog was very apologetic, but as I suffer with osteoporosis, my main concern was for the pain in my lower back, which is why my husband took me straight to A&E at Worthing Hospital, where I was told I had a cracked coccyx as a result of the fall.

This took several weeks to heal and was very painful, making walking and sitting very difficult. In fact, nearly a year later, I am still more comfortable on a cushion when sitting on a hard chair.

There are often a lot of dogs off the lead along the greensward in Rustington, but as it is a public footpath, used by the very young and elderly alike, I would urge all dog owners, however well they think they have their dogs under control, that they can be unpredictable, especially with other dogs around, and they should, therefore, exercise some caution.

Anna Fairs

St Margaret’s Court

Arundel Road

Angmering