Mayo TD Michael Ring has been bitten by a dog while canvassing. The Minister for Arts, Tourism and Sport, sustained two puncture wounds in his left leg after one of a pair of terriers nipped him while on a door-to-door canvass in the Geesala area of north west Mayo.

Mr Ring was to attend a doctor on Tuesday for a tetanus injection as a precaution.

However, the long-serving Fine Gael TD, despite his ordeal, was in a good mood as he showed off his campaign "wounds" in his native Westport.

“The dog survived and I survived,” he quipped.

Explaining the circumstances of the dog giving him a toothy, the Minister explained: “There were two terriers. One circled while the other pounced. The second one caught me unawares. He did the job and caught me just above the left ankle.”

Undeterred by his painful experience, Mr Ring was back on the hustings insisting there was no bad feeling between him and the dog owners. “Getting a nip from a dog is one of the hazards, I suppose, is one of the hazards of every campaign trail.”