UNITED KINGDOM -- Equine protection groups are urging the owners of the beast to come forward before it attacks another animal or even a child.
The dog - believed to be a cross between a pit bull and a boxer - pounced as the two-week-old horse roamed on Dartmoor, Devon, with its mother.
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| Two weeks of life for this baby before being brutally terrorized, mauled, torn apart and finally dying. |
It locked its jaws around the foal with such force that it ripped a hole through the animal’s leg and left 19 puncture wounds to its body.
The dog also attacked the mare, which suffered wounds and a torn udder during the incident on Sunday.
A member of the public who witnessed the attack near Yelverton immediately phoned the rescue charity South West Equine Protection (SWEP).
But the foal was so badly injured it had to be put down.
SWEP founder Maureen Rolls, 67, said: “The owner couldn’t release the dogs’ jaws once it clamped down. It left a ginormous hole which looks as if the bone was damaged.
“When one of our girls went to hold the foal her hand disappeared into a hole through the foal which she said was awful.”
The dog’s owners apparently told the eyewitness that they would have the dog put down.
But Maureen, who has informed the police about the incident, is urging them to come forward and confirm the animal has been destroyed before it strikes again.
She said: “We have grave fears that this dog will strike again and if it doesn’t do it to an animal it will be a child.
“Apparently the owners said they will have it put down but we only have their word for it.
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| This baby horse is still alive |
“We don’t want to blame the owners for this attack because things can happen but all we ask them to do it to come forward and make themselves known to the police or us.
“We believe that the owners of this dog are an elderly couple and have had it for around three weeks, we also believe it may be a rescue dog.
“We need to ensure that this animal has been put down for the safety of other animals, if it has done this then goodness knows who it will turn on next.”
(Sun UK - May 16, 2012)
UPDATE: Per the South West Equine Protection (SWEP) website, they refer to the dog as a Labrador mix. They also note that the dog has been put to sleep.
"We were called out to a mare and foal who had been attacked by a Labrador X dog. Some passers by heard shouting and as they got closer could see the dog latched onto the foal and the owner trying to get the dog off, the mother had run away and was calling to her foal. The dog was eventually separated from the foal and the owners loaded it into the car and drove away."
