A quick bedtime walk turned into a horror story for a Hove man when an out of control stray dog attacked his greyhound Mia.
Paul Jackman was walking along Coleridge Street at about 10pm on Monday night when the German Shepherd attacked.
Sadly, Mia’s injuries were so severe she was put down later that evening.
Mr Jackman said: “The German Shepherd dog came out of nowhere just as I was returning to my flat in Coleridge Street.
“My grey sustained horrendous cuts, lost her left eye and one of her incisors was pointing horizontally. The emergency vet and I came to the conclusion that euthanasia was the best approach as it was a very deep flesh wound to my dog’s left flank.
“It is not entirely the owners fault as the dog was loose and most likely frightened but the attack was ferocious and pulled me to the ground. GSDs are great dogs but need control and unfortunately for my dog is this case there was not control.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The incident sounds particularly nasty and must have been upsetting. It is sad that a walk ended in such tragedy.
“The owner of the dog killed as a result of the attack contacted us this morning with details of the incident. A dog matching the description of the attacking dog was picked up as a stray that night and is in our holding kennel.
“Unfortunately the details of ownership on the identity chip are linked to an address in Birmingham and are out of date.
“If anyone witnessed the incident or has any further information please email animalwardens@brighton-hove.gov.uk or call 01273 294266.”
