Killer dogs could be destroyed as owner evicted after beloved pet savaged to death in Doncaster

Eight-year-old kokoni Charlie had to be put to sleep by vets after suffering horrific injuries when he was savaged by a mastiff in Thorne last month.

Police immediately seized two Dogue de Bordeaux from a property in the Staniland Marina area of the town.

Now Charlie’s distraught keeper says officers have told him that the dogs’ owner has been evicted from his home and that the pets will not be returned to him – and could be destroyed if they cannot be rehomed.

He said: “We were told it was protocol that the man would get his dogs back and we would just have to wait for months to see if it ever went to trial. We refused to accept this.

“What has happened now is he has been evicted from his boat, the one man rubbish dump around him has been cleared and he has been banned from the marina.

"He will not be getting his dogs back. They will be destroyed if they cannot be safely rehomed. We understand he is now living elsewhere in Doncaster. We will still have to wait if there is a trial.

“The police get slagged off a lot these days. This outcome is all because of one fantastic local policewoman, PC Yasmin Riahi. If we had been given an officer who just followed protocol and hadn’t fought for us, he would have his dogs back now.

“Thanks to everyone who has supported us. We feel a lot better today.

“Obviously we still miss our little boy every day, but we feel a lot better now we know that the man to blame isn't let off penalty free with his dogs returned to him. #justiceforourcharlie."

Last month, police said that the owner of the dogs has been served with a community protection notice – which are designed to prevent anti-social behaviour.

In a statement, a South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “A Dogue de Bordeaux dog has managed to escape its leash after being tied up whilst it’s owner was not present.

"The Dogue de Bordeaux has then attacked another dog present at the marina. Unfortunately, the attacked dog sustained injuries that were so severe it had to be put to sleep.

“The owner of the Dogue de Bordeaux has been located and both of his dogs have been seized.”

After the attack, Mr Snelling and partner Sue Hillyer issued a warning to other dog walkers to be on their guard.

"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.”

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.