A DOG owner watched in horror as her Jack Russell was mauled by a large dog in a quiet nature reserve.

Lorna, 31, who has asked us not to publish her surname, looked on helplessly as the Akita, a breed of dog which can weigh up to 50kg, ran almost 200-yards across the Magnolia Nature Reserve, in Hawkwell, before taking Paddy in its mouth and shaking him around “like a doll”.

Paddy later died from his injuries.

Lorna, of Rectory Road, Rochford, is distraught at the loss of her dog, who she had since Christmas.

She said: “It ran towards Paddy and decided just to go for him. I tried to get it off, but it was so strong.

“Paddy wasn’t excitable or doing anything to warrant attention. He was just sniffing the ground looking the opposite way. That’s the really worrying part – it could have been a kid.

“The whole incident from the dog running over to me leaving the park with Paddy felt like a lifetime, but couldn’t have been more than five minutes.”

Lorna added she tried to grab the Akita before it got to Paddy, but it was just too fast and determined.

During the attack, Lorna received an injury to her top lip, but isn’t sure how she got it.

Lorna took Paddy to a vet straight awayand was told he was in shock, but would be OK.

Lorna went to the hospital to have her injury checked, but when she returned to the vet, was told an X-ray had revealed Paddy’s bladder and spleen were damaged, and the puncture wounds were deeper than the initially thought.

She said the brown Akita that attacked Paddy was off its lead, and its owners, a man and a woman in their mid-forties, were walking a second Akita on a lead.

Lorna said: “At first the woman came over, then the man came over and a few moments later the dog stopped. I don’t know if he was forceful in getting it off or just told it. I was too concerned about Paddy.”

She added that the couple were apologetic, and said their dog had never done something like this before.

She added: “I’m angry that the dog wasn’t on a lead. This would never have happened otherwise.”

Lorna appealed to dog owners to keep their animals on a lead, or muzzle them if they were unsure how their pet might behave around others.

She said: “If a dog is that determined to hurt someone or another dog, then there isn’t much you can do about it. I was trying my hardest to get it off, but there was nothing I could do.”

A police spokesman said: “Police were called shortly after 12.30pm on Sunday, June 4 by a woman who reported her dog had been attacked by an another dog.

“The officer is writing up her report which will determine whether or not there is any police action.”

Did you see the incident, or are do you know the owners of the Akita. Call our newsdesk on 01702 321143.