A feisty fitness instructor broke her toe fighting off a fox, savaging her chihuahua.
Marie Wilson, 42, was injured as she repeatedly kicked the scavenger wearing just her bath gown and slippers when she found it with her pet pooch Madison in its jaws.
Seven-year-old Madison was rushed to the vet for emergency surgery after suffering life threatening wounds including a punctured abdomen, but survived.
Mum-of-one Marie is now keeping a cricket bat close by and says she will use it on any other foxes who approach Madison and her other chihuahua Finley.
The incident is the latest in a series of horrifying attacks by urban foxes on pets and young children.
The latest incdient took place last Thursday evening when Marie was getting ready for her spin class and her let her two dogs play together in the back garden.
The personal trainer, of Islington, north London, said: “It was about 5.45pm and I was just getting ready for work.
“I’d put the dogs in the garden and I’d just turned my back to go to the toilet and get a tissue.
“When I came back I saw the fox had Madison in its mouth with its teeth piercing her stomach.
“Her whole stomach was in its mouth and she wasn’t making a noise.
“I feared Madison was dead, but I just thought ‘I’m not going to let you get away with my baby’s body, I’m going to get the body back.'”
Wearing only her bath gown and slippers, Marie, a keen power lifter, leapt into fitness mode to save her dog.
Marie said: “I ran out into my garden and just shouted: ‘Let go of her!’
“The first thing I did was kick him right in the head.
“I do power lifting and squats so I have strong legs and I am also quite flexible, which meant I could get my leg nice and high.
“But when I kicked him he didn’t drop Madison, he dragged her across the concrete pavement with his teeth.
“She still wasn’t making a noise, so I kept kicking him. I must have kicked him about seven times.”
After a particularly aggressive kick, the fox fell off a small ledge, dropping Madison as it fell.
Marie said: “All I could see was blood on Madison.
“Her teeth were sticking out of her gums and bits of her insides were hanging out of her stomach.”
Luckily Madison, who fell near the door, was able to stumble inside, but the fox would still not leave the garden and even tried to follow the two doors inside.
Marie said: “I could hear Madison stumbling and I thought she was dying.
“The fox tried to get under my arm and into the house, so I used my right hand and punched him in the face.”
Marie says the first vets she approached said treatment would cost her £2,500.
Fortunately for Marie, the Celia Hammond Animal Trust treated Madison and performed the surgery for £500.
Vets had to flush out her stomach to prevent infections from the fox bites before extracting the two teeth the fox had dragged out of her gum.
She had suffered severe lacerations and multiple bruises.
A week on Madison is back at home, but still wears a cone on her neck and is still in a lot of pain.
Marier said: “My friend gave me a cricket bat and I will be using it if a fox comes in to attack my babies again.”
Marie says Islington Council flagged up the issue of foxes attacking small dogs in her neighbourhood a few years ago and says they need to enforce against the animals.
She said: “I love my dogs, they are my babies and my life.
“The council should be spending our council tax on sorting out this infestation of of foxes.
“If it was a child who had attacked, I am sure they would respond very differently.”
