A County Durham dog owner has been forced to put down her beloved spaniel just days after it was stolen, doused in petrol, and then set on fire.
Angela Clennell, from Chester-le-Street, was forced to make the “heartbreaking” decision to say goodbye to her pooch Lucky on Friday after the pet had gone through an “unimaginable” ordeal on Wednesday evening.
The spaniel, who Angela has described as “an excitable character” was taken from a garden in Ouston, near Chester-le-Street, at 10pm, along with another dog, Sandy the Lurcher.
Read more: Dog seriously injured after being stolen from County Durham garden
While Sandy managed to escape, Lucky was taken away – where she was attacked, doused in petrol and set on fire.
However, Lucky was found with serious injuries in the village of Lanchester including burns to her mouth and throat, as well as wounds to her head, and a real danger of losing her ears.
She had also suffered "secondary infection and organ damage" and was transferred to an emergency veterinary surgery for 24-hour care.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, Ms Clennell has spoken out on the emotional turmoil the events have had on her – describing the act as “terrible”.
She said: “It broke me to have to put Lucky to sleep. The night she was found, she was unrecognisable, and I wanted to put her out of her misery.
“However, she started wagging her tail, and I wanted to give her a chance.
“But, after she was taken to the specialists – she swelled up, had burns all over her body and that’s when a specialist told me that Lucky wouldn’t survive the ordeal.”
As Ms Clennell had no pet insurance, she set up an online campaign on Thursday to cover vet bills.
Donations had reached more than £8,000 by Friday evening, which Lucky's owner now intends to return.
However, Ms Clennell is now offering a £10,000 reward to encourage anyone to come forward and offer information that will lead to the prosecution of someone for this “horrific” crime.
“Anyone with a conscience should come forward and give over some information so we can get the people behind this prosecuted – it is horrendous,” said Ms Clennell.
Alongside the £10,000 reward, detectives from Durham Police have said that the "horrific" and "targeted" attack is part of an "ongoing dispute" and have arrested a man.
Det Insp Daniel Peacock of Durham Police said he was confident there was "no wider threat to other dogs".
"[The attack] is not linked to theft of dogs for purposes of breeding or sale," he added.
"Our investigation into this horrific incident is ongoing and we would appreciate anyone who may have seen something to come forward and speak to us.
"We understand how impactive incidents like this are and are asking for information from our communities to assist the investigation and bring the offenders to justice."
Anyone with any information is asked to call Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident reference 467 of July 27 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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