Wiltshire farm forced to put down pregnant cows after loose dog breaks into shed

• Warning: contains images some may find disturbing.

A Wiltshire farm has been forced to euthanise two pregnant cows after a loose dog got into their private cow shed.

Around midday on Tuesday (9 May) Chrissie and Mat Crossman were on their farm in Pewsey when a large black dog ran through the private yard.

It jumped over the railings to get into a shed that had 107 pregnant dairy cows in it.

Chrissie said they’d brought the herd in the previous day due to wet weather, and once the dog got in she could hear the cows running.

She said: “All hell broke loose once the dog got in. We ran up to the shed but by then the dog had gone and we didn’t see it again. We couldn’t see or hear the owner either.”

Two cows, called Flo and Cassandra, were injured in the incident and had to be put down. One had a dislocated hip and one had a broken leg.

Chrissie said: “It’s absolutely shocking. We’ve never had this before and it’s very rare to have this with dairy cows, especially as they were indoors.

“The whole herd was scared witless so we’re keeping a close eye on them as they’re four months off calving.”

Chrissie and Mat shared the story online. It has already been seen by thousands of people and hundreds of comments have been left.

Chrissie says she wants to share their story to warn people about the dangers of dogs off leads near livestock.

She said: “Be really aware of your surroundings, it doesn’t take a dog long to run off. We don’t know where this dog came from, but the actions of it have been catastrophic.

“Keep your dog on the lead to be as safe as possible. This shouldn’t have happened.”