A Staffordshire Bull Terrier mauled its owner to death just moments after they stopped filming a BBC documentary. This horrific mauling occurred in front of the BBC filming crew, who did what they could to get the dog away from Mario Perivoitos, the owner of the dog, Major.

While filming the BBC program, Drugs Map Britain, Mario, 41, suffered an epileptic fit and he laid down on his bed. While he was having this seizure, Major attacked him, reports the Metro. The BBC documentary crew was there for their program interviewing Perivoitos, who is a heroin and crystal meth addict. He was to be featured in the documentary.

The BBC crew tried to get Major to stop attacking Perivoitos. It was not known at the time that the dog had ingested crack cocaine and morphine. No one knows where the dog ingested the drugs, but urine and blood analysis showed that the dog had the equivalent of eight times the amount in its system that the law indicates would impair a human from driving, according to the Daily Mail.

The dog had both crack cocaine and morphine in its system when tested by a veterinary. The dog could have ingested those drugs up to 24 hours before the attack as they metabolize differently in dogs than they do in humans. There were no other toxins found in the dog’s system. The veterinarian said it is likely the attack occurred because the dog had eaten these drugs, changing his behavior.

The attack left the camera crew attempting to get the dog off Perivoitos, while they called an ambulance for the man who was severely injured.

STRANGER THAN FICTION Dog ate crack cocaine before mauling owner to death in front of BBC film crew https://t.co/MRjiSKhlmh — True Crime Inc (@wensleyclarkson) September 11, 2017

The London Ambulance Service arrived at the location answering the call from one of the camera crew members. They couldn’t get into the front door of the apartment complex as it was bolted with a “tower lock.” It took approximately nine minutes for the police to open the door, according to Fox News.

The ambulance driver described the condition they found Perivoitos in. Peter Roe, who is with the London Ambulance Service said, “Mario has a laceration to the neck about four or five centimeters long, I could observe his trachea, it was a large deep wound on the left-hand side of his neck.” The laceration was about 1 to 1.5 inches long in U.S. measurements.

While Perivoitos was alive when the ambulance arrived, he died later at the hospital from the injuries he received during this dog mauling. The dog was taken into the custody of police and will be put down, according to the law enforcement officials reporting on this case.

The coroner in charge of the inquest, Senior Coroner Andrew Walker, offered his conclusion of what happened. He said the following.

“Mr. Perivoitos was taking part in a documentary about illegal drugs, having returned to his home at 10:17 pm consumed a quantity of cocaine before becoming unwell.”

This is when the film crew arrived to start filming. He also said it is likely the dog started to nip at his face once he saw his owner experience an “epileptic shock.” He continued, “The film crew telephoned an ambulance whilst attempting to get the dog off Perivoitos,” according to Fox News.

“Mr. Perivoitos suffered serious injuries and was taken to a major trauma hospital and died shortly after midnight, ” the coroner said. He concluded his report with thanking the film crew who was there at the time. Apparently, one of the film crew members followed the advice of the London Ambulance Service while on the phone waiting for the paramedics to arrive. The coroner also thanked that person. He also “commended” the witnesses at Perivoitos home during this attack for doing all the right things.

[Featured Image by Monica Martinez Do-Allo/Shutterstock]