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A dog owner dragged her dead pet down a north London street after it collapsed in hot weather, it is claimed.

The woman is then said to have tried to leave the dead animal's body in a street in Camden after it had succumbed to the heat on Monday.

A 26-year-old woman who witnessed the traumatising ordeal said the black Labrador was dragged along the pavement in Mornington Crescent.

The witness, who asked not to be named, said the owner was confronted by a young man who noticed the dog had passed away but owner became “aggressive and abusive”.

She told the Standard: “I tried my best to be understanding but she didn’t want any help. I didn’t want to leave because she had another dog with her and he looked tired and old.

“She took the lead off the dead dog and showed no emotion at all. The young guy said he had seen the dog was alive previously and was struggling.

“The woman was in denial and was saying he was just lying down. It was really sad and horrible to see.”

The woman, who works as a software engineer, said she initially though the dog was dehydrated.

She continued: “When I looked closer I was in complete shock there was this dead dog and even more shocked she was dragging it around with no care at all.

“It was limp and she was trying to drag it along the path.

“I was devastated. I’m choking up about it even now. It was just made so much worse because the owner didn’t care. If it died in the street by natural causes, which it might have done, that’s fine but she was dragging this body around and then was happy to leave it there.”

Photographs of the dog, which have been seen by the Standard, are too distressing to publish.

The woman said she contacted the RSPCA and police, but officers were unable to do anything under the law as there were no obvious signs of mistreatment.

The woman added: “I think it raises awareness of the dangers of leaving animals in the heat or cars, especially if it’s elderly or unwell.”

The dog’s body was later taken away by authorities.

An RSPCA spokesman said: "The RSPCA were made aware of this situation but it appears that this was an extremely tragic incident.

"Our thoughts are with the owners of this dog who have lost their pet."