A FAMILY say they have been left “completely devastated” after their puppy Springer Spaniel was killed in a vicious attack by another dog.

The “traumatic incident” happened at the former Eccleston Park Golf Club site during which the dog also attacked the Springer Spaniel’s owner as she tried to fight it off.

Members of the public also heroically tried to intervene during the attack.

Merseyside Police said they have since seized the dog and it is being assessed to determine the breed. 

The owner’s daughter, who has asked for their identities to be kept anonymous, has told the Star about the “horrendous” incident which took place on Sunday evening, April 23.

Dog 'grabbed our puppy by the throat'

"At around 5.30pm my mum was out walking our 18-week-old Springer Spaniel on the old Eccleston Park Golf Course,” she said.

“We were in the process of training him and so this was a walk on his lead to get him used to it.

"There were not many people around but my mum saw two girls, described as young adults or teenagers and both blonde, on the brow of the hill and a large dog, described as a sandy-coloured bull mastiff-type dog, which was not on a lead.

“The girls hesitated, moved away and the dog followed them. My mum continued on her walk with our puppy and out of nowhere the dog hurtled towards them, grabbing our puppy by the throat.”

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She added: “My mum is petite but put herself in harm's way, fighting with the vicious dog and ending up being bitten on the hand whilst frantically screaming for help.

“People came to help, including one man with his little boy, and all three did their best to keep the attacking dog away from the puppy, with one man managing to tie it to a tree with various leads provided by both my mum and one of those helping.

“The dog broke loose from the harness it was attached to the tree with and came back for my mum and the puppy, grabbing the puppy by the hips whilst my mum was trying to control the bleeding from the initial attack.

“Another person managed to get the attacking dog away from our puppy and to the ground where he had to lay on top of it to control it. Another member of the public, who was with her eight-month-old baby, called the police who took the dog to their van on the lead before my mum and our puppy were blue-lighted to a vet hospital. The cowardly owners did nothing to help and instead ran away.”

'We are completely devastated'

The family has been left “completely devastated” after their puppy sadly died following the attack and are appealing for people with information to come forward.

“Tragically after a night spent between going between the vet hospital and A&E to have my mum's injuries treated, we had news that our puppy did not survive.

“We are completely devastated by what has happened to the sweetest and most innocent little dog, who was just learning to enjoy his new-found freedom of being able to explore the world on his walks.

“This should not have happened and is completely down to the irresponsibility of the owners of this dangerous dog.

“This was an unnecessarily traumatic incident for all involved and we are seeking the public's help to find the owners of this dangerous animal.

“My mum, a responsible dog owner of almost 20 years, did not deserve to be attacked and our puppy did not deserve to die just for going on a daily walk.

“To say we are heartbroken is an understatement and we are appealing for help in gathering information, especially from anyone who may have witnessed the incident from afar, come into contact with the girls or have CCTV/doorbell footage from the houses on the golf course or surrounding areas, so that justice can be done.”

She added: “What has happened will stay with us forever and we will never get over the loss of our puppy in such a horrendous way but we want action to be taken because if these people are allowed to continue owning this dog in such an irresponsible way then next time we could be talking about the death of a child or a person.

“It is a miracle that given those who came to help that we are not talking about that now. Those people are heroes and although we have already done so privately we want to convey our heartfelt thanks to them publicly".

 

Anyone with information is asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook with reference 23000342553. People can also call 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.