A "friendly" dog who was born on a beach in Spain and travelled a thousand miles to make a new home with his owner in Liverpool had its throat torn open in a "brutal" attack.
Zeus the miniature Doberman Pinscher was being walked by owner Bartholomew's friends Jose Rivero, 25, and Sharon De Igartua, 22, along Great Georges Street near the Baltic Triangle at around 8.10pm on November 24 when he was savaged by two beige-coloured "pitbull type" dogs that were running off-lead.
Jose, from Toxteth, said: "One of them just went for him and jumped on him. It bit him, threw him up in the air. The other dog came and grabbed him and he got bitten on the left side of his neck. He had a huge cut on the left side of his face, he had holes in his neck, he was bleeding out. Half of his neck was torn open."
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Nine-year-old Zeus was rushed to Medivets 24-hour vet service in Knotty Ash, where he died of his injuries that night.
His heartbroken owner Bartholomew Vazques Perez, 52, from Crosby, said: "I'm devastated. I couldn't believe it. A little dog like that, he was so friendly. He was a good dog.
"I feel like they have killed a member of my family. In the past 10 years, he has brought me so much happiness, especially after my mum died in 2015. He's the one who has helped me stay alive. He was my life. He was my son."
Jose added: "It was brutal. It was completely unprovoked."
Jose and Sharon described the owner of the two dogs as a white man around 40-years-old, 170cm tall, wearing a black hoodie and riding a white bicycle. After the attack, he left the scene with his dogs.
The incident was reported to the police, however they are no longer investigating the incident.
A spokesman said: "We did carry out some initial enquiries but has been recorded under Section 2 of the Dogs Act so as such is a civil matter."
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