It was a walk we’ve done a hundred times before. Early summer, starting to get dark and later than I’d normally go but we have an infant son who was finally asleep and I wanted some fresh air.

Our greyhound Caesar is an easy dog to care for but he’d been stuck inside most of the day too. So we left my partner at home, listening to the baby monitor, and headed out to our local park.

Full disclosure - we’ve had a few things to overcome with Caesar. He spent the first years of his life running on racetracks and had to learn to be a house dog. When we adopted him he had never seen a dog that wasn’t a greyhound and to say he was confused was an understatement.

Read more: Horrific video shows moment boy was attacked by dog as he played

He struggled for a long time with small dogs that ran up, off-lead, an owner miles away shouting ‘don’t worry, he’s friendly’. They’d often jump and nip him, and he’d respond by pinning them to the ground or occasionally snapping at them.

We learnt to manage it, attracting his attention with treats and positive reinforcement. Over time, he learnt to ignore badly behaved dogs, although it instilled in me a frustration in owners who don’t control their pets.

These days Caesar has all but forgotten his track days, relishing his retirement with long lie-ins. His best friends are a long-haired dachshund and a shih tzu, whose owners give him treats and fuss every time we bump into them.

That day we were about three-quarters of the way round the park, approaching a place where the path narrows with trees on one side and a fence on the other. I could see someone approaching so I stood and waited - I always give other dog owners plenty of space.

I heard the dog approach before I saw it, panting hard as it raced around. It ran circles around us, two, three times, snarling, before running off. It was dark and I didn’t get a good enough look at it to know what breed it was. Bigger than a Staffy, probably as high as my knee, but with a stubby nose judging at how hard it seemed to be breathing.

It was stocky and muscular, that was clear to see. I shouted to the man, who was still a good distance away: “Can you get your dog under control?”

He ignored me. The dog ran back to us, circled us again, snarling. It happened so fast I had no time to react.

Caesar, normally the world’s biggest canine wimp, stood in front of me, ears pricked. I believe if that dog had gone beyond snarling, Caesar would have defended me, and he would have come off worse in a fight. He’s a tall lad but greyhounds are built for speed and not much else - their skin is like tissue paper.

Thankfully the man walked past me and the dog ran off and didn’t return. “Your dog is out of control, it’s just been snarling at us,” I told him.

“He was just playing,” the man shrugged.

“He’s out of control,” I repeated. “It’s against the law.”

The man turned and started calling me all names under the sun, including some pretty misogynistic comments about why I’d even be out without a man.

I walked off - admittedly making some pretty rude comments myself. I wish I’d had the foresight to film the encounter, to get the man on camera, shrugging his shoulders that his vicious dog had approached us, snarling, and tried to claim it didn’t matter.

Nothing happened - but what’s to stop it going further next time? What happens if we run into him when I’m out with my toddler?

I ended up reporting it to the police on their website. They called back and were sympathetic and supportive but agreed that because I couldn’t give a description of the man or dog due to how dark it was, there was nothing they could do.

Still, after a discussion about responsible dog ownership in general, they agreed to carry out more patrols and try to raise some awareness. It can’t just be down to police to tackle this issue.

I - and everyone else - deserve to walk in our public parks with our dogs and children without being afraid of attack. Dog ownership is a privilege.

It comes with responsibilities both to your dog and to other people. If you can’t live up to that then don’t have one.

Don't miss our daily newsletter for all the latest goings-on in Coventry.