"ONE cannot imagine a more horrific event."

Those were the words of Judge David Melville QC when describing the case of a Ryde woman, saved by her cousin and police first aid, after being mauled by her own dangerous dog.

Charlotte Harriet Louise Mathers, of Jellicoe Road, appeared before the Isle of Wight Crown Court today (Friday).

At a previous hearing on February 16, the 44-year-old admitted being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.

As previously reported, on the night of July 19, police were called to an incident in Golf Link Road, Sandown.

Reports were of a Staffordshire bull terrier and Rhodesian ridgeback cross which had attacked and dragged its owner to the ground, in the middle of the road.

When officers arrived, they saw an Audi A4 parked up to help, in the middle of the road, with blood down the front and sides, said prosecutor, Liz Miller, back in February

She said Mathers, her cousin Lachen Downs and the car's owners, James and Julie Spratley, were inside, while the dog ­— named Rusty ­— circled the vehicle.

In their police statement, the Spratleys said while driving, they saw the dog jump up at Mathers, thinking it was at play — but were then shocked to see the dog pull her to the ground and drag her.

The court heard police initially tried to run the dog over, but failed, so armed response officers took the decision to fire five shots at the canine.

Officers killed the dog and gave first aid to Mathers and her cousin, Mr Downs, whose injuries were initially treated as life threatening.

Mathers required three operations in the space of five days to totally reconstruct her left arm and suffered extensive, permanent nerve damage to it, the court was previously told.

It later came to light Mr Downs had saved Mathers from further serious injury by rugby tackling the dog, which allowed her to run to a passing car for safety.

For his bravery, Mr Downs suffered extensive flesh wounds to his face and limbs, with a chunk missing from his arm, having wrestled the dog to the ground.

In February, the court heard Mathers told police she believed another dog caused unmuzzled Rusty problems, which sparked the attacks.

Appearing today, prosecutor Michael Mason told the court Mathers hit and slapped the dog for misbehaving, at which point it bit her arm.

He said Rusty was a very powerful dog that should have been muzzled in public, and police had requested Mathers be banned from keeping another dog.

Kelly Brocklehurst, for Mathers, said she was a very vulnerable adult whose history of mental health problems and domestic violence abuse caused her to look to animals for comfort and companionship.

He said she had been punished already for her mistakes, and never knew the dog to be aggressive before, and there was no indication Rusty would do what he did.

Mr Brocklehurst told the court Mathers had made concerted efforts to regain control of the animal, and paid the price with her injuries.

He said an incident of such a scale was not reasonably foreseeable, and Mathers didn't need more punishment, but instead help.

Mathers was given a four-month prison term, suspended for two years, to include 20 rehabilitation days.

She was disqualified from owning a dog for five years, and ordered to pay a surcharge of £128.

Judge Melville described the case as an example of a dog owner losing control of a dangerous situation, and said Mathers' drinking on the day likely damaged her decision making.