Heartbroken owners blame local dog after pony found dead following ‘kill chase’

A heartbroken family have blamed local dog owners after a beloved pony was found dead following a suspected 'death chase'.

Shetland and Welsh Mountain cross pony Arya is thought to have died in a "blind panic" after her body was found in a hedge in the Flintshire village of Penyffordd, north Wales, reports North Wales Live.

Peta Hutchinson, who leases the land where the ponies live, told North Wales Live that her tragic death was "totally avoidable".

Describing how her 16-year-old grandson Josh — who had "an extremely close bond" with the animal — discovered Arya lifeless on her farm, Peta told North Wales Live: "My grandson and daughter went up on Wednesday to feed the horses as usual, and only noticed two horses in the field.

"They rang me and we spent hours looking for Arya. We checked all the fences and couldn't find anywhere she could have got out. We were getting so worried."

Josh has emotional issues and always feels calm around the horses, making it "all the more heart-breaking" for his grandmother that he was the one to eventually find the pony.

"It was obvious that she'd gone in there during a blind panic. It looks as though she's gone headlong into the trees.", she said.

Peta believes the fatal incident was caused by a loose dog being allowed to chase Arya through the field, and commented: "The fields surrounding ours have public footpaths criss-crossing through them. It doesn't matter what time of day, you'll always see somebody with a dog."

She said that no matter how well trained a dog it's sometimes "in their DNA" to instinctively give chase, which triggers a pony's natural inclination to bolt.

The family will likely never know for certain what happened as four-acre field isn't covered by CCTV cameras.

Helen Lacey from North Wales Horse Watch, a registered charity that works closely with the police, said that loose dogs have become a "huge problem" for livestock and horse owners around the country.

She confirmed the incident had been reported to North Wales Police. Anyone with information is advised to contact the force's 101 line and quote the reference B079060.

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