Killer husky put down after mauling pet chihuahua to death in Portsmouth back garden

Distraught Jessica Dugan and Alfie Traviss’ three-year-old dog, Dior, had its neck broken in the shock attack in Collington Crescent, Paulsgrove.

The pair, both 21, let the pet outside to go to the toilet before hearing it ‘scream’ when the husky got into their back garden and fatally gripped it with its teeth.

Office worker Jessica tried to fight off the rogue canine, but broke down sobbing outside a neighbour’s home when it ran up nearby Mortimer Road with Dior in its mouth.

‘It was like losing a family member – I had to witness something killing my dog,’ she said.

‘I don't sleep, I'm on tablets and I still cry thinking about it.

‘I see it and it's drilled into my brain every night as soon as I close my eyes.’

Disturbing CCTV images captured by a neighbour show Dior hanging from the husky’s mouth as Good Samaritans rally to a distraught Jessica’s aid.

She and Alfie were left furious when the husky’s owner, Beth Roy, emerged from her Mortimer Road home and failed to apologise for the attack, but allegedly told Jessica she would put down the dog, called Mika.

‘There was no remorse, no care, it was just like it's a normal thing for her,' said Jessica.

‘I never knew this woman until this happened.’

Rescue dog Mika eventually dropped Dior. Alfie recovered her body and took it home.

The dog’s ashes now sit on the couple’s mantlepiece. There have been no arrests or charges following the incident.

Yesterday Ms Roy, 27, told The News Mika escaped over her 6ft garden fence before the attack took place and was put down a week later.

He had been one of eight huskies owned by the dogwalker and her partner, who also have three labradors and a doberman.

‘If [Dior] was one of my dogs I'd be the same – I'd be devastated,’ she said.

‘I apologise, but what needed to be done has been done and I can't do anything more.

‘No amount of apology is going to bring that dog back.’

She added: ‘It's just a freak accident and there's nothing anyone can do about it, or will do about it, because it's nature.’

Ms Roy claimed her car’s tyres have been slashed and she has received death threats since the incident, and has informed police.

A concerned resident wrote to neighbours urging them to be wary of ‘dangerous’ dogs at her address.

The message has since been shared thousands of times on social media, with some neighbours fearful one of her dogs could attack a child. One of her dogs killed a cat last August.

Ms Roy confirmed the incident took place at a park off nearby Credenhill Road last summer as she walked her huskies.

‘One day there was a cat sitting in the middle of the field – it's what huskies do,’ she said.

‘They're not aggressive, but they have a high prey drive.’

Addressing neighbours’ fears, she said: ‘[Neighbours are] trying to make it look like all my dogs are vicious, when it was only one who did it.’

She added: ‘I’ve got a degree in dog behaviour and I can tell you for a 100 per cent fact that just because a dog kills or hurts a small rabbit for example, it doesn’t mean a child is even in the same category at all.’

Hampshire Constabulary confirmed a ‘number of enquiries’ were made at the time of the attack involving Dior on August 3.

A Portsmouth City Council spokeswoman said an Environmental Health investigation into Ms Roy’s property and dogs was ‘ongoing’, after neighbours lodged noise complaints.

A spokesman for the authority added: ‘There was a joint visit to [Beth’s] property by the police, kennels staff and RSPCA where all the dogs were assessed and checked for microchips and work to resolve the situation is ongoing.’