Police dog mauls pet cat to death

A police dog attacked a pet cat, leaving it so badly wounded that its owner decided to put the animal down.

Spangle was left paralysed and incontinent after it was savaged on 6 July when the dog was taken to a crime scene near its home in Beckenham, south-east London.

Police officers Tasered and arrested a man in a dispute which occurred in the area, before departing.

But some dog handlers remained at the scene to search for other suspects.

After one handler let his animal off its lead, so it could relieve itself before the search began.

The dog then chased and mauled Spangle, leaving wounds “all over his body”, according to owner Shirley Anthony, who said officers told her about the attack.

“The policeman told me his colleague had let the dog out to go to the toilet when it chased the cat around the corner,” she said. “My neighbour was looking out of the window. She told me Spangle was concerned and looking behind him as he walked down the pavement with the police dog following.

“The dog literally attacked. It was shaking Spangle around in its mouth and left puncture marks all over his body. When the policeman called him back he dropped him. I’m absolutely distraught. If only he had put a lead on him, my cat would still be here.”

Ms Anthony said the dog’s handler visited her after the incident and “was clearly upset”.

He told her his "dog ‘didn’t like cats’ and that they ‘normally scarper when they see the dogs’."

The 60-year-old took Spangle to a specialist vet but following treatment the cat was paralysed and had fluid in its lungs.

Her pet, who was 11-years old was put down six days after the attack.

“Handlers should make sure when they take a dog out of a car in a residential area it is on a lead,” Ms Anthony said.

After she complained to Scotland Yard about her cat’s death, it agreed to pay the £8,000 vet’s bill.

“A complaint has been received and the matter is being investigated by the Met Taskforce Professional Standards Unit,” said a spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police. “Licensed police dogs are subject to continual training and assessment for obedience, safety and control.

“Any confirmed or alleged dog bite involving any MPS police dog is taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated. Licensed police dogs are subject to continual training and assessment for obedience, safety and control. Any confirmed or alleged dog bite involving any Metropolitan Police Service dog is taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated.”

Additional reporting by agencies