A dog owner looked on in horror as her pet was killed in a pub garden.

Dasha Darazhio, of Boulevard Drive, Colindale, and her three-year-old son Max saw their beloved Yorkshire terrier Bru ripped apart in the attack at around 4pm last Friday.

The pair had visited the Waggon and Horses pub in Watling Street, Elstree and had tied Bru to the bench they were sitting at in the pub garden.

But after a couple walked into the pub with three Staffordshire terriers, one of the dogs broke from its lead and ran over to attack Bru.

Miss Darazhio punched the dog on the nose and tried to drag it away from her dog, but by then Bru had already been seriously injured.

She tried to keep Bru alive for several hours after but sadly she died later that day.

Miss Darazhio said: “The pain I feel every second when I am awake is indescribable, I was so close to my dog. She was my best friend - she slept in my bed every night and was just the kindest, sweetest thing ever. I can never get the picture of what happened out of my head.

“The dog was very aggressive and hungry for blood - so why the owners brought it to a family pub is beyond me. If a dog is that dangerous it shouldn’t be allowed in these places. What worries me is that this could have happened to a child.”

The two owners of the dog had tried to call it off, but later left the scene.

The pub's assistant manager Lou Chapman said: "The dog had been trying to get away the whole time they were here, they weren't well trained at all.

"It just started straight for the lady's dog and got hold of it - all I could hear was this squealing. We've never seen the owners before, but they went over and tried to get their dog and just left straight away. It's obviously such an awful thing to have happened."

Miss Darazhio has reported the incident to the police, who are investigating.

She added: “If it has been bred to kill, that’s all it will know. It’s not the dog’s fault, which is sad as if they’re found it’ll be the dogs that pay the price with their lives.”

The owners are described as a white woman with very long blonde hair, aged between 25 and 30, and a man, aged between 25 and 30, with dark hair which was long on top with shaved sides.

PC Phil Tuck, who is investigating, said: “The owner is distraught about the loss of her beloved pet and we are doing everything we can to trace the dog owners, with support from colleagues at Hertsmere Borough Council.”

He added: “Fortunately incidents like this are very rare.”