DOG owners from Brentwood have said more needs to be done to stop gangs targeting people with canines after theirs was savagely attacked.

The Asmus family were rocked last week when their six-year-old Jack Russell Ferdinand, also known as Fergy, was set upon by a gang of six men and a dog whilst out walking in Wash, Road, Hutton on November 1.

Fergy was grabbed by the neck by the other dog, which thrashed him around causing him to lose consciousness whilst owner Dariusz Asmus, 49, was stopped from intervening by being kicked and shoved away.

Following emergency vet surgery costing more than £300, Fergy is now recovering at the family home in Woodland Avenue.

Mr Asmus’ daughter Paulina, 21, received the call that her dog had been attacked whilst studying accountancy at Leicester University.

She shared images of Fergy’s injuries on social media to raise awareness of the gang, which have since been shared more than 50,000 times.

Now, Miss Asmus is calling on authorities to do more to stop gangs who use dogs as weapons.

She said: “I had no idea of how wide this would spread, considering I wrote it on a train going back to uni.

“But since I did post it, there have been so many comments saying that similar things happened to them, that dogs were used to target people, and it’s really alarming.

“My dad was incredibly shaken up, he’s good at keeping his emotions to himself, but he couldn’t even talk about it at first.

“This is without a doubt one of the most horrifying things that’s happened to me. We’re now scared to take him out for a walk, especially after dark, as we live extremely close from where it happened.

“We have been told by police that an officer is being assigned to the case, but we haven’t heard anything from them apart from that.

“I’m not sure if it’s because a dog was the victim that they’re treating it less seriously, but it shouldn’t mean that.

“These people are out there, and the dog that attacked Fergy could easily have gone for a child. It was trained, it went for his neck straight away.

“It knew what it was doing.”

Miss Asmus added: “We want this to spread as far as possible, we need to get the word out to people, that these horrible people are out there and are using dogs to attack people.”

Police Constable Matthew O’Shea of Brentwood Local Policing Team said: “We understand how distressing this must have been for the victim and we fully appreciate the impact a crime such as this can have not only for those directly involved but the local community too.

"As with any offence reported to us, we are investigating based upon the evidence and information we have in order to find those responsible.”

“We have been speaking with the victim and will be conducting local enquires. We would like to reiterate our appeal for witnesses to come forward and ask that any dog owners in the area, who may have seen or been through a similar experience to contact Brentwood Local Policing team on 101.”

Information can also be given completely anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.