Pensioner's horror at savage dog attack on cat in Popley (From This is Hampshire)

Brian Bates watched pitbull-type dog savage his 13-year-old cat Suzie in Popley, Basingstoke

1:00pm Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News By Helen Morton

A SHOCKED pensioner has told how he watched in horror as a savage dog killed his cat in front of him.

Brian Bates was left traumatised after he saw the pit bull-type canine attack and kill his beloved 13-year-old cat Suzie in his own home.

The dog had got into Mr Bates' garden, in Pershore Road, Popley, Basingstoke, via a neighbour's open gate, and when Mr Bates opened his door to speak to the owner, who was calling for the dog, it ran into his home and made a beeline for the grey and white cat.

Father-of-two Mr Bates, 65, said: “It was all over within minutes. I tried to hit the dog, to punch it off my cat, but it didn't make a difference.”

The former builder said the dog's owner, who he described as a blonde woman in her 20s, managed to pulled the canine off Suzie, but ran away when he told her she would have to pay for vets bills.

Mr Bates said: “At that stage, I thought that maybe Suzie could have been saved. But her injuries were too bad.”

He called the police, who advised him to call the RSPCA. His fatally injured cat was put to sleep in the early hours of February 28.

Mr Bates said he had not been able to eat properly since the incident, late in the evening of February 27, and was still “not right.”

He added: “When you hear a story like this, people say how awful it is, but to actually see it happen with your own eyes - it was really traumatic.”

Grandfather-of-three Mr Bates said: “I just want people to be made aware how dangerous these dogs can be and how they need to be kept on a lead.

“I blame the owner for not putting the dog on a lead and I blame myself. If I hadn't have left the door open, it wouldn't have been able to get into the house.

“I just keep thinking, what if my grandchildren had been in the house. What if one of them had been holding the cat?”

Mr Bates is hoping to track down the owner of the dog. He said: “I don't necessarily want the dog put down, but something needs to be done. It needs to be kept on a lead. It is so incredibly dangerous.”