A devastated dog lover has spoken of her horror after her beloved pet was mauled by another dog in a brutal attack.

Jody Cuddington, 34, was left heartbroken after she made the gut-wrenching decision for vets to put down Dougie, her three-year-old chihuahua, after he was attacked while walking along the promenade in Gravesend.

Vets said Dougie’s wounds may never heal after the dog suffered a fractured back.

Miss Cuddington says she was walking with her partner when she spotted a bullmastiff with four leads at about 10.30pm near the promenade car park.

She said: “The dog came bowling over and just grabbed him. I can’t describe what happened because it was so graphic.

“My other half and the dog’s owner were trying for a while to get the dog off him. I just remember Dougie screaming when the dog eventually let go.

"Every time I close my eyes I see that incident over and over again..." - Jody Cuddington

“He was in a bad way and couldn’t move his back legs.

“We took him to the vets but they said he may never get better, there was a massive fracture to his back.

“We felt it was selfish of us to keep him alive when he could have gone through months and months of pain without getting any better.

“Dougie was one of the family, he went everywhere with us.

“People view their pets as part of the family not just a dog, a lot of our family and friends are devastated by this.

“Every time I close my eyes I see that incident over and over again.”

Miss Cuddington says she came across the dog again on the promenade shortly after returning from a break in Hastings.

She says she has spoken out to warn other pet owners.

Police are investigating the incident which took place on Friday, June 19.

A police spokesman said: “We have investigated this incident as a case of a dog being dangerously out of control in a public place.

“We fully appreciate the impact that this incident would have had on the victim. CCTV has been examined and a number of inquiries have been made.”

Stories you might have missed

Sentences slashed after gran's shop murder

Man kicked dog so hard it could not stand up

Man rescued after clifftop fall

Op Stack scaled back