Heartbroken couple's warning over killer dog as beloved pet mauled to death in Doncaster

Rescue dog Charlie, a kokoni, suffered horrific injuries when he was attacked by a mastiff while out on an evening walk with owner Jon Snelling in Thorne.

Distressed Mr Snelling looked on in horror as the huge and powerful Dogue de Bordeaux attacked his cute eight-year-old as he walked in the Staniland Marina area of the town last Thursday.

Mr Snelling says the dog was loose, with its owner nowhere to be seen and despite rushing their beloved pet straight to the vet, Charlie had to be put to sleep after suffering horrific injuries.

Now Mr Snelling and partner Sue Hillyer are warning other dog walkers to be on their guard against following the attack, which has been reported to police.

He said: “The dog was loose, having crossed the bridge over the canal on its own and the owner was nowhere around.

"He attacked our dog while he was on a lead and I was giving him his early evening walk last Thursday.

"It was vicious and completely unprovoked. Charlie was put to sleep later that night as the injuries were so bad as to make any chance of recovery very unlikely.”

Describing Charlie as a ‘beautiful little dog’ he said: “It will almost certainly kill again – or maybe severely injure a person next time.”

Mr Snelling says he has reported the incident to South Yorkshire Police, but is worried over what he described as ‘inaction.’

He added: “The people of Thorne are very concerned.

“The police contacted us that night to say the dogs had been secured but they were seen out again a few minutes later.

"We have contacted the police again now a further four times and have no answer.

"The dogs are extremely dangerous and the owner is incapable of controlling it.”

Charlie was brought over from Cyprus by the Mayflower Sanctuary in Bawtry and Mr Snelling said he was “well known all over Thorne as such an unusual dog and so full of character.”

He added: “We adopted him at about eighteen months. He used to belong to the President of Cyprus but had wound up living on the streets before being rescued.

"The story is now well known around Thorne and people are now rightly afraid to walk their dogs or even their small children anywhere near the Lock Bridge and Marina.

“The whole community is suffering and restricted from their normal lives until the dogs are taken or they attack again – possibly a child next.”

Details of the attack come after police in Doncaster locked down a suburb on Tuesday to seize a ‘dangerously out of control’ dog.

Officers swooped on the property in Brockhole Close, closing off a number of other streets in the area to seize the animal.

We have contacted South Yorkshire Police for more details about the attack on Mr Snelling’s dog in Thorne.