Owner relives moment chihuahua was mauled to death by XL bully in Doncaster

• 'When I close my eyes on a night-time, that's all I see': Vicky Bristow tells reporter Katie Oscroft about the trauma of losing her dog in a XL bully attack

The owner of a chihuahua which was mauled to death by an XL bully says it "kills me" to walk past the place where the attack happened.

Vicky Bristow's dog Gizmo was set upon as she walked him near her home in Doncaster on 22 December last year.

CCTV recorded the moment he was carried away in the larger dog's mouth.

Armed police were called to Charles Street in Skellow after reports the dog, which had escaped from a nearby house, was out of control.

The nine-year-old chihuahua was rushed to the vets but had to be put down due to its injuries. The XL bully was destroyed.

Two people arrested over the incident were released on bail.

Mrs Bristow, who has two surviving dogs, said she is "living in fear" about "whether it will happen again".

"I can't even describe how it feels. It's just fear," she told ITV News.

"It kills me to walk past there, knowing that I was here not being able to do anything whilst that dog was getting hold of my dog.

"I was looking down at him, because he was jumping up at my legs, I can't get that image out of my mind.

"When I close my eyes on a night-time, that's all I see."

Her daughter, Alyssia, also witnessed the attack and held Gizmo as he was dying.

She said: "I was just screaming. There was already like five adults kicking this dog, the XL bully, trying to get some sort of pain out of it so it would stop and it would drop him. He wouldn't let go."

Despite the incident Mrs Bristow said she does not agree with new restrictions on XL bullies.

From 1 February it becomes a criminal offence to own the breed without an exemption. They must be muzzled and kept on a lead in public.

"I don't think dogs should be muzzled. I know it sounds crazy but I think it's more to do with irresponsible owners," Mrs Bristow said.

Alyssia said: "The attack could have been much worse."

She added that Gizmo "saved my mum and our other dog that day".

"I've seen dogs fighting with each other before and that was nothing like it. I do definitely agree with the fact that the dogs shouldn't be on the streets," she said.

XL bullies were added to the list of breeds classed as dangerous at the end of last year after a series of attacks involving XL bullies, including a fatal attack on a man in Sunderland.

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