Family ‘heartbroken’ by dog’s death after being hit by motorbikes on Viking Way

Sasha-Lou, an eight-year-old Dobermann, sustained a fractured pelvis which was so badly damaged it crushed her spinal cord in the incident, on Tuesday evening.

The vets who treated the badly injured pet advised her owners, Craig and Sara Price, that she should be put to sleep just over an hour later.

Losing their dog has devastated the couple and their daughters, Porsha (15) and 12-year-old Charley-Rai, and they are keen to trace the riders involved after they rode off without stopping.

Sara told the Melton Times: “We are devastated and heartbroken that this has happened.

“Sasha-Lou was part of our family.

“She was the sweetest thing you could ever wish to meet.”

Craig was walking Sasha-Lou and another of their dogs on the Viking Way near their home at Sewstern when two motocross bikes came towards them with the riders apparently racing each other.

They ploughed into Sasha-Lou and sent her rolling into a huge puddle of water in obvious agony.

“She was screaming in pain so loudly that another lady who was walking her dog on a back road in the village heard her,” said Sara, who is a local community nurse.

“My husband went to our dog and the two riders just rode off.

“If they had just stopped and asked if we needed any help it wouldn’t have been so bad but they rode off and left her screaming in pain.

“It was very dangerous to be riding bikes along there and next time it could be a child who is hit.”

An online fundraising page raised more than £1,000 in just a few hours to pay the family’s vet’s bills at Kings in Melton.

The vet waived her professional fee but the money paid for other costs such as X-rays.

Dozens of others have sent messages of sympathy after Sara highlighted the incident on social media.

A local undertaker has offered to provide a casket and memorial plaque for Sasha-Lou and a local woman has offered to paint her.

Sara added: “The help and support from the people of Melton since this happened has been completely overwhelming.”

Sarah Mullarkey, who set up the JustGiving page, said: “I don’t know Sara personally but the story broke my heart.

“It warms my heart that we can help her at this sad time.”

Police recently announced they were stepping up patrols on the Viking Way after reports of motorbikes being ridden illegally on the route, which is for walkers and horse riders only.

Officers are investigating the incident - contact Pcso 6541 Gray if you have any information about those involved, quoting incident number 131821.