A dog walker commended the bravery of a 14-year-old who rescued his dog Midas when they were attacked on the Railway Trail.

Dean Bottomley was walking his friend's Bichon Frise along the trail by Crawl Hill in Hamilton Parish at 12.15 p.m. on Wednesday. He said he didn't hear or see the Pit Bull, which came charging up from behind them and scooped Midas up into his jaws.

Wrangling with the pit bull, which had darted from a garden almost 60 yards behind him, Mr. Bottomley was able to pull Midas free. Caught between the two dogs, all he could do was yell until Princeton Bailey Jr. appeared on the trail, much to Mr. Bottomley's relief.

He said he shouted at the teenager to take Midas and luckily Princeton grabbed the little dog and ran with him to his house nearby while Mr. Bottomley continued to struggle with the pit bull.

But Princeton, a student at Clearwater Middle School said he wasn't worried about helping or intimidated by the dogs because he has a Rottweiler himself.

He said: "I heard shouts coming from the tracks. I went to see what it was and it was a man keeping two dogs away from each other. I wasn't scared because I have a dog myself. I just wanted to help."

After Princeton left, though, Mr. Bottomley continued to struggle with the pit bull that tried to run after the middle-school student and Midas.

Mr. Bottomley said: "I wrestled and fought to keep the pit bull under control. I was trying to hold him by his collar. A man came on the trail who was a relative of the dog's owner."

Mr. Bottomley called 911 and then the man took control of the dog and apologised, saying it is not normally aggressive.

"I called 911 back to tell them that someone that knew the dog had taken him, but they said they had called Animal Control."

Mr. Bottomley believes the pit bull had been tied in the yard because it had about four feet of thin cable still attached to his collar.

He said he was lucky the dog had a collar on because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pull the two dogs off each other.

But Mr. Bottomley, who has owned Rottweilers, pit bulls and German Shepherds himself, said he was glad it was him on the trail and not someone else who could have been more vulnerable. "I like dogs, all kinds, and have owned Rottweilers and German Sheppards and even a pit mix before, but when they attack a human and another dog they are a nuisance," he said.

"I want to publicly thank Princeton. He did something very courageous not only by coming to see who was yelling for help, but getting involved in the middle of a dog fight.

"I am also glad that it didn't happen to someone else, especially a child or some women that may have been on the trail."

Two animal wardens shortly afterwards took photos of his injuries, which included cuts to his arms, and took the pit bull away with them.

Mr. Bottomley was later treated at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for his cuts and luckily had, had his tetanus shot.