A VICIOUS dog attack led to an animal being too injured to save.

The dog attack took place this morning (Sunday, August 13) and residents at Philips Lane in Salisbury raised the alarm after they arrived home to find the ewe leaning against their garden fence with its back leg covered in blood. 

Paul Crumbie said: "We saw the poor thing lying against our fence. It had a nasty bite to the rear leg. There was a lot of blood. Sadly, she had to be put to sleep." 

He added: "They are not our sheep, but we keep a lookout as this is not the first time a dog has chased the sheep across the field. If we are in the garden, and hear a dog barking and see the sheep running, we run up there and try to distract the dog. Sadly, today, we were not in the garden." 

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Paul admitted that he often feels that he is on a constant lookout. 

He said: "I know not all dog owners are irresponsible, but you would be amazed at some of the comments we get when we ask people to put their dog on a lead."

The field is usually overgrown with scrub limiting people from taking their dogs for walks there but now that the sheep are grazing that field, it is making it easier for people to access it. 

Paul said: "I don't know whose dog it was but the owner would have known something had happened as the dog would have been covered in blood."