Brentwood police were called in after a tiny dog was attacked by a large canine in Doddinghurst.

The attacker also bit the dog's owner as she tried to save her pet which later had to be put to sleep.

Linda Keeling, 54, was bitten on the face and hand as she tackled the dog herself, described as a Bull Mastiff, and tried to pull her Chihuahua from its jaws.

"I just think other people should be warned," she said. "It could have been a little child walking past at that moment."

Mrs Keeling, of Days Lane, was walking her three pet dogs on Sunday, December 20, when a large dog appeared from a nearby garden and grabbed her pet.

"It was the most terrible thing that has ever happened to me," said Mrs Keeling.

"The dog took my Bella and shook her and bit her. I was fighting with the dog and it knocked me over in the mud. I grabbed its collar and tried to open its mouth and eventually it let go.

Bella was covered in blood and she was screaming terribly. I had blood on my face and hand but all I could think about was getting Bella to the vet's."

Mrs Keeling took her pet to House and Jackson Veterinary Clinic in Blackmore where Bella was operated on, but she later died on Christmas Eve.

Vet Simon Baker said: "The major obvious injury was a hole in her chest wall by her armpit that was sucking air into her chest.

"She was extensively bruised and had puncture wounds of the chest and the abdomen and a fracture of the pelvis.

"She did OK initially but went into shock on Christmas Eve and was put to sleep because the owners felt that she had had enough and that the outlook at that point was fairly poor.

"It was a text book case. If a little dog is taken in the mouth of a big dog you get mainly crushing injuries in the body.

"Thankfully this is not something we see every day by any means."

"I just cannot get over it and I can't sleep at night" said Mrs Keeling, who had had her 10-year-old Chihuahua since she was a puppy.

"To make things worse, one of my other dogs, a Yorkshire Terrier called Sasha, who had been ill, died two days later, so I lost two dogs in three days

Mrs Keeling, who now has an £800 vet's bill to pay, said she had reported the incident to the police.

Insp Peter French of Brentwood Police said: "It's difficult to identify which dog was involved in the attack."

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