Shocking and distressing footage has emerged of a man brutally stalking and picking up a cat before smashing it on the floor and trying to get his dog to attack it.
Tracy Heatley let her 15-year-old cat, Lola, out of the house as she always does on the evening of December 5, expecting her to come back within minutes due to the bitterly cold temperatures. But just under two hours later she received a call saying Lola had been taken to the emergency vets by police with life-threatening injuries.
It was initially thought that the injuries had come from a loose dog attacking Lola, but CCTV footage caught from a neighbour's house showed it to be much more sinister. The video, above, which the M.E.N. has decided to blur due to its distressing nature, showed a man walking through Laythom Street, Bury, with a dog off its lead, before following Lola into a car park on the corner with Brookshaw Street.
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The man could be seen encouraging his dog to chase Lola, who was hiding under a van. The man then grabbed Lola by her back legs before 'cartwheeling' her around and smashing her unconscious on the floor.
Police who approached the man asked him if his dog had attacked Lola, to which he replied "I don't know". When the man failed to keep the dog away, despite being asked to, officers shouted to him "get the dog back bud what are you doing? Your dog's just attacked that cat".
The attack has since left mum-of-three Tracy "absolutely heartbroken", with neighbours who all know Lola as the "community cat" shocked and angered and desperate to find the man responsible. "It's awful. Absolutely horrific," Tracy told the Manchester Evening News.
"I did nothing different to what I do every night and usually she just comes back within minutes, but she wasn't back by 11pm and I wasn't going to leave her because it was so cold. I went outside and shouted for her but then my house phone rang at about 11:45pm which really worried me as I thought it could be something bad had happened to my two older kids who aren't at home anymore.
"But it was from the vets who told me how bad her injuries were which was awful. I've been on this estate for 20 years and she's spent her entire life here with no problems, everyone knows and loves her.
"I thought it was a dog at first which feels like an accident but when it was suggested it could have been a person I felt so angry. What sort of person would do that? What's wrong with you?
"It made sense it had to be a person because the vets kept saying the injuries didn't add up to it being a dog attack. She's old and frail so an attack from a dog would have killed her, they said. They called me in three or four times to come in as they didn't think she'd make it which was so sad
"A neighbour who has a camera looking onto the car park who got in touch saying you could see the full attack. He said to me it's all horrific and am I sure if I wanted to see it but I needed to. I cried when I saw it.
"It completely broke my heart, and it all made sense. He grabbed her from under the car and cartwheeled her around, smashing her on the ground. He takes the dog to her trying to get it to rip her to shreds but it's not interested. You can then see the police come around the corner and they instantly think it's the dog by the looks of it.
"A police officer wrapped her up and took her to the vets straight away. The dog didn't do anything wrong, looking at the CCTV I don't want it punished, I'm an animal lover.
"My nine-year-old asked for money and bought chocolates for the police officers that helped save Lola and wrote them a card. He's got more compassion in his little finger than this mad who attacked Lola."
A friend of Tracy's has set up a gofundme page to help cover the costs of Lola's care, which has already raised more than £1,200. This is the second tragedy to hit Tracy in under the space of a month as her car with all of her son's Christmas presents in was stolen on November 11.
"I'm just so grateful that people can be so kind this close to Christmas," Tracy added. "It just makes me sick to think how many animals this man may have hurt or how many he will try and kill. He needs to be punished. The more people that can be aware of him and keep a look out for him the better.
"I've got another cat who I just won't ever be able to let out again. It's such a shame. I've had Lola longer than my youngest son, she's like a baby to me."
Lola is now recovering at home but needs regular eyedrops and may need an eye removing due to injuries from the attack. You can find the fundraiser by clicking here.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman confirmed an investigation into the incident is underway. They said: "At around 11pm on Monday 5 December, GMP were made aware of a dangerous dog on Brookshaw Street, Bury. No arrests have been made at this time. An investigation is underway."
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