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28th April 2023
12:53pm BST
A British gran who was killed by a stray pit bull she had taken in had been warned by a vet that the animal was dangerous.
Anne Shields, 67, adopted the dog at her Spanish home after finding it starving on the street. But just four days later she was left with "catastrophic" head and arm injuries after the animal attacked her.
Spanish police had to shoot the dog to rescue Shields, but she died from her injuries in hospital.
Investigators have now revealed that a vet had warned the Brit not to take the dog in as it might be dangerous.
They also confirmed the dog's owner has been identified and arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, the Mail reports.
In their first official comments since Shield's tragic death in February, a spokesman for the Civil Guard in Valencia said: "The Civil Guard is investigating the owner of a dog that attacked a woman in Macastre in February who ended up dying as a result of her injuries.
"The 67-year-old British victim had to be rushed to hospital after officers killed the animal with their weapons so they could assist her due to the animal's aggressiveness.
"She died a day after being admitted to hospital because of the wounds to her arms.
"The victim had found the animal in an acute state of malnutrition and showing clear signs of abandonment, with illnesses like canine scabies, four days before it ended her life.
"She was warned by the vet that saw the animal that it was dangerous and she shouldn't take it in but she ignored the warnings.
"Detectives launched an investigation to identify the dog's owner after discovering it had no microchip.
"They took 15 statements from different people and obtained photos showing the animal, which was aged around two, at different stages of its life.
"The man now under investigation, as well as some of his relatives, recognised the animal when shown the photographs obtained.
"He is known to police and wasn't allowed to have these sorts of dogs under current Spanish legislation because of his previous.
"Officers also discovered he had owned dogs of similar characteristics without the necessary safeguards and care.
"Detectives carried out an investigation of his home and observed the places where the dog could have escaped, as the suspect himself recognised in his statement.
"He is a 35-year-old Spaniard who was formally questioned and accused of a crime of manslaughter and another offence against pets because of his abandonment of a dog considered as potentially dangerous."
Shield's daughter told the Sun in March that her "animal lover" mum had taken in the dog because the local shelters were full.
She had named it Choccy, and "'couldn’t bear the thought of throwing him back on the streets."
Pit bulls are not banned in Spain like they are here in the UK, but a license is need to own one.
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