A woman has spoken about being left with “life-changing injuries” after she was attacked by a herd of cows in Masham.
Janicke Tvedt had to be air-lifted to hospital for emergency surgery after the ordeal, which occurred when she was walking her dog on a footpath off Foxholme Lane in July.
As Ms Tvedt, her partner and dog headed to leave the field they were approached by a herd of around 30 cows and two calves.
A lone cow with two calves attacked the dog, which was on a lead, and as the couple attempted to escape the field three cows blocked their exit and trapped them against a hedge. Cows with calves sometimes instinctively attack dogs.
After sniffing them for some time, the cows attacked the dog, which pulled Ms Tvedke to the ground. A cow then stamped on her abdomen, chest and throat before another fell onto her leg and rolled on top of her.
Her partner managed to get her up and to a tree where they were surrounded for about 20 minutes until the cows left them alone. They were then able to leave the field and Ms Tvedt was put in the recovery position by her partner whilst the police, ambulance and air ambulance came to her aid.
She was left with seven broken ribs, other ribs partially fractured and a broken thumb. The trampling also destroyed part of her colon and after two days of sedation she had a colostomy bag fitted.
Ms Tvedt spoke of her “traumatising” experience:
“I know I’m very lucky to still be here. It’s had a huge impact on my life, I’m now having to take time to come to terms with what’s happened to me and how it’s changed my life.”
Hoof prints of chest
Nearly six months on from the ordeal, Ms Tvedt is waiting for her colostomy bag to be removed, which is likely to be in March next year. She still has two large hoof prints on her chest.
She is also waiting for two hernias to be removed from her chest and to be given the go-ahead from an ear, nose and throat specialist to return to singing in her local choir.
Ms Tvedt has been attending regular counselling since the attack and says she is very wary of where she walks her dog now.
She had been due to go into surgery for cancer a few days prior to the incident but it was delayed.
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Ms Tvedt’s ordeal was discussed at a recent Masham Parish Council meeting where a police community support officer Alison Swan said officers were hearing of more cow attacks, especially among tourists, and more warning signs were required.
The parish council heard that the farmer of the field had put up additional warning signs since the incident but these had been pulled down. The farmer had requested to have the path re-routed to the adjacent arable field but this had been refused.
Cllr Atkinson recommended the parish council write to the county council in support of moving the footpath to try to add weight to the application.
The council added it would speak to the farmer again to try and find way to prevent a similar incident happening again, for instance by putting up sturdier signs.
The incident is set to be included in the TV series Helicopter ER next year.
