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A family has been left devastated and traumatised after their tiny puppy was savaged to death by a restricted dog breed in Dublin.

Yorkshire Terrier Rocky was attacked by two large Akita dogs with no collars and died from his injuries later in the day.

Sorin Chira said his mother-in-law Felicia was walking Rocky on a lead when she collected his youngsters Alexandra, nine, and six-year-old Edward from school.

Sorin told Dublin Live that his brave daughter Alexandra managed to wrestle Rocky free from the big dogs and has warned people to be vigilant and avoid the two dogs if they see them around town.

Japanese Akitas are large dogs and are restricted in Ireland. They were originally bred as fighting dogs and are known to be aggressive towards other dogs, especially those of the same sex.

(Image: dublinlive) (Image: dublinlive)

Sorin said: "My daughter, when she realised what was happening, she hit the white dog - she was trying to get our little dog out of his mouth - and the dog let go for a second and Alexandra was able to get our dog in her arms.

"I'm just glad that they didn't attack my daughter because she got our dog out of the big white dog's mouth.

"She was lucky because one of our wonderful neighbours, Laura, happened to be driving into the estate and saw what was happening.

"She quickly opened the door and Alexandra managed to get into the car with Rocky, while the white dog was coming after them."

Sorin said he was eternally grateful for the quick actions of his neighbour, but said the ordeal had left his family devastated and traumatised.

"People who've never owned a dog don't really understand, but when you have one and then it dies like this, it's like losing one of the family," he said.

(Image: dublinlive)

(Image: dublinlive)

(Image: dublinlive)

Sorin said that they went to Rathcoole Garda Station, but it was closed, so they reported what had happened to gardai at Clondalkin.

He added: "We have a witness who saw what had happened and she was able to take photos from the car.

Heartbreakingly, Sorin said that his brave little girl didn't let go of her beloved puppy from the moment that she got into the car at the scene of the attack, until they arrived at the vets.

(Image: dublinlive)

Sadly, after leaving Rocky at the vets, Sorin and his wife Corina got a phone call to come back in. They both left work and rushed back, moments before Rocky sadly died of his devastating injuries.

Sorin said that his wife and children were "devastated".

He added: "Overnight, my daughter woke up while she was sleeping and began to speak, but she wasn't awake - she's in shock.

"Edward keeps crying and asking if Rocky's coming back or not."

Sorin's heartbroken wife told Dublin Live they wanted to warn others.

She added: "We do want to let other people know what happened and someone in charge should take action against the owners of this dogs and prevent another situation like this."

Dublin Live has contacted gardai to see if it is investigating the incident.