A MYSTERY benefactor has come to the aid of a pensioner and his pet after an animal attack in Weaverham.

An anonymous donor has paid a £480 veterinary bill for 81-year-old Jack Harker and his five-year-old bichon frise Fliss after the pair's story featured on the front page of last week's Guardian.

"What can I say – I'm overwhelmed, I'm flabbergasted and I'm over the moon too of course," he said.

Fliss was left with a ripped windpipe and oesophagus and puncture wounds all over her skull after the attack, which happened on an early evening walk in Weaverham.

Jack said he and Fliss were around the corner from their Walnut Lane home when a Staffordshire bull terrier type dog came out of nowhere and grabbed Fliss around the throat.

He explained that he had to fight the dog off with his stick and was helped by passers by.

He then had to take Fliss to the Willows Veterinary Hospital, where they kept her in for two days, and it took her a further two days before she could start eating again.

It was when Jack took Fliss for a check up on Thursday that he discovered they had a guardian angel.

"I went to the vets and they told me all about it, I couldn't believe it," he said.

"They said this anonymous person had seen the article on the front of the Guardian and as a result that's what they've done.

"It's fantastic.

"I just want to say an enormous thank you."

He also wanted to reassure readers that Fliss is on the mend.

"She's making good progress," he said.

"She's still on antibiotics but she's getting there.

"She's a lot happier now and greets you with a wagging tail."