UNITED KINGDOM -- Two terrified little girls were forced to watch in horror while an out-of-control "fighting dog" mauled their beloved pet cat and left it in a bloody heap.The savage attack - the latest in a spate of reported attacks on animals by vicious dogs - prompted the girls' father, Rahim Jung, to call for urgent action to be taken to tackle the seemingly growing problem.
Mr Jung, of Wroughton Road, Battersea, said three-year-old Isla and six-year-old May were sitting in the doorway to their home with Persian cat Jinxy on Saturday evening when a Pit bull-type "fighting dog" burst into the front garden and sunk its teeth into the feline.
He said: "This dog ran straight into our front garden and grabbed the cat in its jaws and shook the cat for a period of about two or three minutes - it was time enough for us to call the police and the RSPCA.
"The dog would not let the cat go. The owner was hitting and punching the dog but it was just not letting it go."
At one point the dog, which Mr Jung said "must have weighed 10 stone", even turned on its male owner and bit him on the arm - before finally letting Jinxy go and leaving it in "a bloody heap on the floor".
Mr Jung added: "I have absolutely no doubt a dog that size could have killed one of the children."
Despite the ferocity of the attack, Jinxy survived. He suffered five broken ribs and a broken leg - and the Jung family were left with a £500-plus vet bill.
Mr Jung said the dog owner, who was with a female companion during the incident at 6.30pm, ran away bleeding from his arm. Some neighbours, who ran out of their homes after hearing shouts and screams, attempted to give chase but failed.
Isla and May were said to be "deeply traumatised" by the attack on Jinxy, who is described as "the most docile friendly cat you could imagine".
Police were notified but a spokeswoman said it was a civil matter, not a criminal one. Safer neighbourhood team officers told Mr Jung they would circulate details of the attack around the area.
Last month police announced they would up patrols on Tooting Common following a savage dog-on-dog attack which left a dachshund fatally injured.
(Guardian UK - July 29, 2011)
