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A woman ran to a neighbour's house screaming 'help, Tony's dead' after her pack of Bernese mountain dogs mauled a retired vet in his garden, it was revealed today.
Tony Harrington, 77, a widower, died from bite injuries after he was set upon by a pack of dogs at his home in Little Packington, Warwickshire.
The woman, 75, was a friend of Mr Harrington who moved into his home just a few weeks before he was killed so that she could help him recover from an operation on his knee.
A neighbour, who went to Mr Harrington's home after being asked for help by the woman, said she was devastated by what had happened after returning to the property and finding him on November 25 last year.
'She came to us asking for help and said she thought Tony was dead.
'By the time I arrived, police, paramedics and an air ambulance were there but he was covered in bites and it was obvious he was dead. It was absolutely awful and not something you can unsee,' said the villager.
Retired vet Antony Harrington was found dead in his garden having been attacked by a pack of seven dogs
A friend of Mr Harrington went on a walk with him and shared photos of several Bernese Mountain dogs
'The dogs' owner was in a terrible state but was not at the house when it happened. She had been out and came home in the evening to find Tony in the garden but thought he might have been attacked in the morning.
'It's a horrible thing to say but some of his clothes were scattered across the garden. There was no sign of the dogs but police took them away and they are now in police kennels while they investigate what happened.
'There have been reports that Tony's Black Russian terrier Red was involved in the attack but we don't think that's true as he was kept inside the house separate from the woman's dogs which were living outside. The police have taken his dog away as well.
'The Bernese dogs and the dachshund arrived at Tony's house a few weeks before he was killed. He was a lovely, very private man so didn't say anything about who they belonged to or how long they were staying.
'We were worried about them escaping because they looked vicious and were always fighting with each other outside.'
The villager said Mr Harrington, who had lived in the village with his late wife Louise since the 80s, said the woman who owned the dogs had been staying with him to help him out before he went into hospital for a knee operation.
The father-of-three is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest during the attack and was declared dead at the scene. At first, detectives were unsure whether he had been bitten before dying or only after, but have now confirmed bite injuries as the cause of
