A ROTTWEILER that ripped a beloved family dog almost in half during an attack in has been ordered to be destroyed.

Rob and Diane Young, owners of victim Casper, a bichon frise, say they are relieved about the verdict.

“It could have attacked an old person or a young child,” said Mr Young of Rockingham Place, Broomfield, near Herne Bay. “It is an extremely dangerous dog.”

Casper was shaken in the jaws of his attacker “like a rag doll” while on an evening walk in March.

The Youngs have amassed vet’s bills totalling £2,000 after surgeons had to sew his hindquarters back together.

Since then, a course of antibiotics and regular vet visits have seen Casper, three, restored almost to full health.

Now magistrates have ordered the rottweiler be put down. Its owner, Rachel Price of Dean Croft in Broomfield, has also been handed a £200 fine, ordered to pay £300 compensation and £60 court costs.

Mr Young, a driving instructor, said: “I would have felt like taking the law into my own hands if the verdict had been any different.

“All our neighbours in Broomfield, everyone who has asked us about the attack, agreed the rottweiler had to be put down. No one thought Casper was going to survive.”

It was Mrs Young, 37, who was out walking Casper on the evening of Sunday, March 25, when the rottweiler struck. It is believed the aggressive dog had escaped through a broken fence at its home in Dean Croft.

Mrs Young was bitten on the arm and hand as she fought to save her pet. The 37-year-old Herne Infant School dinner lady has been left traumatised and will no longer walk Casper on her own.

“The rottweiler came out of nowhere,” she said. “It was like a bear, shaking Casper like a rag doll. There was blood everywhere.”

A man passing with his alsatian helped beat off the rottweiler with a stick and two residents also joined in the struggle.

The Youngs, who have two daughters Megan, 12, and Rosie, seven, have expressed their thanks to everyone who helped at the scene including the paramedic who arrived within minutes.

* Rachel Price, owner of the rottweiler, has been given until the end of June to decide whether to lodge an appeal against the destruction order on her dog.