A PET owner feared her elderly dog would “die in her arms” after being viciously attacked by a large Akita.

Courtney Terry was forced to carry her dog Megan - who she has had since she was six-years-old - home covered in blood after the brutal attack on West Crescent, Canvey.

Megan, 15, needed emergency surgery and suffered multiple puncture wounds after the dog grabbed her by the neck.

On top of the £800 vet bill, Megan has since been left traumatised and is now too frightened to leave home.

Ms Terry feared her loyal pet “may die from the attack or the after-shock”.

Allegedly, the same Akita was involved in a dog attack just 20 minutes earlier.

Ms Terry, 21, from Rayleigh, said: “Me and mum had gone for a walk near hers on Mothers Day, and wandered up to Jones Corner to drop off parcels.

“When we were on our way back, this Akita had spotted Megan.

“The next thing I know the dog came bounding over, the teenage boy with it just couldn’t hold onto it.

“Mum yanked the lead back to try and stop Megan being attacked, but the Akita managed to grab her on the top of the neck. There is no doubt in my mind it was trying to kill her, it was shaking it’s head with her in it’s mouth.

“I think a man actually had to come over and hold it’s top and bottom jaw open to free Megan. I thought she was going to die in my arms.

“I had to carry her back to my mums, she was bleeding too much and in too much shock to even walk.

“It turns out the same dog attacked a different dog just twenty minutes before just up the road, and then went for Megan. The harness had snapped and they were bringing it back home.”

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Ms Terry says she hasn’t been able to sleep since the incident, which took place at roughly 4pm on Sunday.

She added: “She is an elderly dog, so I worried that if the attack itself didn’t kill her, the shock of what happened might.

“Although she’s home she now has PTSD, I’m having to coax her to even go outside and she wet herself in her bed where she’s too scared to go to the toilet.

“Even for me it was traumatic, all it’s been doing in my head since it happened is just play over and over again.

“Its always going to hurt when I eventually do lose her, I’ve had her my whole life, but if it happened before her time it’s unbearable to even think about. I can’t imagine life without her.”

A Go Fund Me page has been launched to help with vet bills. Visit https://gofund.me/6495fc22.

Call 101 and quote 42/45034/21.