Harrowing footage has captured the moment a teenager begged for help after her miniature pinscher was mauled to death by a leadless ‘devil’ dog in London.
Renata Aladenika, 18, was walking Rocco in Woolwich Common on Sunday when she claims a bullmastiff rushed over, sank its teeth into her dog’s neck and shook him ‘like a rag doll’.
The student then filmed the bullmastiff’s owner as she dragged her dog away from the scene, while Rocco lay bleeding in the grass and Ms Aladenika sobbed ‘he’s dying’ and ‘I don’t know what to do.’
Heartbreaking photographs later captured the devastated pet owner as she said goodbye to her ‘best friend’ Rocco – whose injuries were so severe he had to be put to sleep.
Harrowing footage has captured the moment a teenager begs for help after her miniature pinscher was mauled to death by a leadless ‘devil’ dog in London. Pictured: Renata Aladenika with Rocco
Ms Aladenika has now shared footage of the aftermath in a bid to unmask the owner who she claims offered to give her a lift to a vets but then fled with her dog.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with her £1,300 vet bill.
The teenager, from Charlton, south east London, said: ‘It felt like this giant devil dog versus our tiny Rocco.
‘He was a tenth of his weight, so he didn’t stand a chance. To lose him like this was so traumatic.
‘The dog wasn’t on a lead. It was awful, he ran over and grabbed Rocco by the head and started shaking him.
‘The owner tried to drag it away by the ear, but it must have been 70kg.
‘She apologised and said she would give me a lift to the vet, but when she got into her car she just drove off.
Ms Aladenika, 18, was walking Rocco in Woolwich Common on Sunday when she claims a bullmastiff (pictured) rushed over, sank its teeth into her dog’s neck and shook him ‘like a rag doll’
Heartbreaking photographs captured the devastated pet owner as she said goodbye to her ‘best friend’ Rocco – whose injuries were so severe he had to be put to sleep
‘Rocco was my best friend. The house is so empty without him and it feels weird going to sleep without him on my bed.’
Ms Aladenika explained how she had taken four-year-old Rocco for a half-hour walk at around 8.50pm on Sunday as the weather was still warm in the evening.
The pair had been making their way back home when another woman and the bullmastiff approached from the left.
‘The other dog was off the leash so Rocco approached it and the dogs stopped and looked at each other,’ she said.
‘Rocco gave a little warning growl and the next thing I knew the dog had Rocco’s neck in its mouth and was shaking him around.
‘He was screaming for help. I could hear him yelping the whole time, and I was screaming trying to get him away.
‘The woman was telling the dog to let go. I was trying to pull him away but it wasn’t working as the dog’s jaw was very strong.
‘That went on for a minute and after a while Rocco stopped moving and he was still being shaken around for another minute.’
Ms Aladenika (pictured near where Rocco is buried) shared footage of the aftermath in a bid to unmask the owner who she claims offered to give her a lift to a vets but then fled with her dog
Ms Aladenika, from Charlton, south east London, said: ‘It felt like this giant devil dog versus our tiny Rocco.’ Pictured: Rocco before the attack
Ms Aladenika said she decided to video the aftermath so she would have evidence of who was responsible for the attack.
‘I took a video of her and asked her her name, and as she was pulling it away she was saying “He’s still breathing”,’ she said. ‘After an attack like that I honestly thought Rocco was already dead but picked him up.
‘The woman said she was going to pull the dog away and get the car so she could come and pick me up from the main road.
‘I went to the main road with Rocco in my arms and she never showed up.’
The teenager called her mother who drove her and Rocco to an emergency vet, where the dog was monitored overnight.
The following day they took him to their usual vet who revealed he had catastrophic haemorrhaging in his neck and would have to be put down.
The teenager (pictured with Rocco) decided to video the aftermath so she would have evidence of who was responsible for the attack
‘They said they were going to have to put him down and that we should go down to say goodbye to him,’ she said.
‘It didn’t feel real walking into the room and seeing him on the table. Rocco was so energetic and if anybody walked into the room normally he would have been jumping on us but he couldn’t move.
‘I held his paw and I told him that it was ok, he was whining and it felt like he was still trying to fight and survive.
‘It didn’t feel real that he wasn’t going to make it and come home with us.’
Ms Aladenika said she shared video of the bullmastiff’s owner because ‘the way the owner handled it really made me feel like I needed to get justice for Rocco.’
‘The way she ran away with her dog and left me to deal with Rocco alone was a cowardly thing to do,’ she added.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.’