Sunderland Olympian Aly Dixon bitten by dog in Herrington Park on New Year's Eve run

The 50km World Champion athlete was completing her final run of the year when she was bitten on her backside by an ‘excited’ dog in the city's Herrington Country Park.

The incident took place on December 31 and saw Aly spending the final day of 2020 waiting for a tetanus injection.

Sharing a photo of the bite on Twitter, the the two time British marathon champion reassured well-wishers saying that she was doing ‘good’ and is now on a course of antibiotics.

Aly said: “Ending the year waiting for a tetanus jab after being bitten on the butt by a dog whilst running in Herrington Park this morning.

“Luckily I had two pairs of leggings on so it didn't go into the muscle.

"Had to have a tetanus jab and course of antibiotics.”

Aly told her Twitter followers that the owner of the dog ran off to catch it after the incident and his companion apologised to her for the dog being so ‘excited.’

Despite being a dog lover herself she said owners need to control their pets better to avoid incidents like this from happening.

She added: "I love dogs but some owners need to control them better. The owner couldn't get hold of this one.”

Aly’s story hit a chord with a number of runners on social media who shared their own stories of being bitten or chased by dogs while out training.

Aly added: “In general I love dogs, had two myself. But not too keen on them when they bite my bum!”

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