The dog was left with severe brain damage and had to be put down by vets
Dog owners have been left “devastated” after their pug had to be put down after it was attacked in the street by a cane corso. John and Emma Whatley, from North Lynn, Norfolk have lost their healthy three-year-old dog, named Roxy.
John was fixing his car on Thursday evening when he got a phone call from Emma, who was in “hysterics”. She had been walking the pug – which belonged to their 11-year-old daughter when they were approached by another owner with a cane corso, which became aggressive.
John jumped in his car and rushed to the scene, where he saw Roxy lying on the floor, not moving, covered in blood. Passers-by surrounded the dog, as Emma tried to follow the cane corso owner, who they say had taken off. After a family friend had taken Roxy to the vets, the couple were told that she had severe brain damage and would need intense and expensive care.
“I thought to myself, ‘If that’s what it took, then that’s what it took’,” John said. However, the couple were told it was highly unlikely that Roxy would ever get better, so they decided not to let her suffer any more, and she was put down.
“I went to stroke her. Her body didn’t move, but her eyes did, so she knew I was there,” John added. The family is now facing vet bills close to £1,000.
Norfolk Police said it has launched an investigation. John said: “I would like the dog destroyed. What’s it going to take? Does a child need to die before anything is done?
“My daughter is devastated. It feels like my dog died for nothing.”