A WOMAN who lost her prized Welsh Terrier in a dog attack has spoken of her heartache.

Maureen King, from Constance Close in Witham, was just getting over the death of her husband who suffered from a brain tumour, and said she lived for her dog.

Mrs King, 70, was walking her 11-year-old dog, called Welsh, in a small field off Market Lane when a Staffordshire bull terrier latched onto him.

She said: “I was in such a state, I was screaming as I couldn’t get the dog away.

“It had bitten through the main artery in his neck – he would have had to go to a specialised hospital but the vets didn’t think he would make it.

“I just didn’t want him to suffer.”

Mrs King said the dog’s owner had tried to get the dog away from Welsh.

Neighbours called paramedics as she was in such shock.

She said: “It’s hard to come to terms with because I lost my husband last year, I was just coming to terms with it and the dog was a real help to me.

“I had him since he was a puppy. My husband used to enter him in Crufts which was fun at the time.

“He was a beautiful dog, you get so close to them when you have them from puppies. It was devastating – my life has no meaning now.”

The attack on September 25, lasted about 10 minutes. It was reported to the police, dog warden, RSPCA and the local vets.

Since then, she has been visited by Braintree Council’s dog warden and Witham councillor Angela Kilmartin, who is bringing it up with police.

She said: “I couldn’t cope as I couldn’t do anything.

“The neighbours were the most supportive people you could ever wish to meet.”

Rebekah McGrane, who walked her two dogs on the same field a few days later, heard of the incident and was shocked.

She said: “I can’t tell you how angry this makes me.

“I’m just genuinely worried that it might happen again, and if it happened to one of my dogs I would be inconsolable, not to mention a child.”

The dog warden was contacted but was not available for comment at the time.