A BEAGLE crossbreed was stabbed 18 times in a ‘brutal’ and ‘frenzied attack’.

The killer of the dog, called Snoopy, has been described by a top RSPCA inspector as ‘warped’.

The 18-month-old tan and white pet was found floating dead in a pond in Accrington by a couple out walking their own dogs.

Lancashire and Cumbria RSPCA Chief Inspector Rob Melloy said the stabbing in Peel Park was among the worst cases of animal cruelty he had ever seen.

And he warned that the killer could strike again and next time might not be content with targeting an animal.

The RSPCA believe he was walked up to the park before being killed.

The charity is working on ‘a number of lines of inquiry’, which the Lancashire Telegraph understands centres on the dog escaping or being stolen.

It was initially believed Snoopy was the victim of a bloody dog fight, but RSPCA officers have now said the animal suffered 18 stab wounds in a ‘sustained attack’.

He said: “Snoopy would have cried out in pain.

"Also, the person responsible would have been covered in blood.

"Someone came home in the early hours potentially with bloodstained clothing.

“They may have even boasted about it.

“We believe the attack happened in the vicinity of where the dog was found in the park.

“We think the dog was walked up there and stabbed to death.”

Snoopy was found by Amanda Heyes, 47, and partner Robert Geary, 57, at 10am as they walked their pets.

But Mr Melloy believes he was killed sometime between 3.30am and 9.45am that morning.

He said: “This wasn’t self-defence or an accident, it was a frenzied attack.

"We have ruled out dog-fighting as there were no bite marks found at the post-mortem examination.

“There’s a lot of research which suggests people that are capable of this go on to do it again and don’t always stop at animals.

“It is a major concern that this person may offend again.”

Susan Kulat, 44, from Accrington, was one of the witnesses who contacted the RSPCA.

She said: "I thought I heard something on that night.

"I heard the noise of a stressed dog, and then voices.

"This is so evil and horrible. It is a mindless crime.

"I hate to think what that dog's been through.

"There was blood all over the place and it looked like the scene of a dog fight.

"I won't leave my dogs alone for a minute after this news, you can't trust anybody."

The RSPCA said there had not been any similar incidents in Lancashire.

Mr Melloy said a ‘history’ of dog fighting incidents led to the initial assumption that Snoopy had been killed by another dog.

In the past four years several young men from Blackburn and Accrington have been jailed for holding dog fights.

One man had turned a terraced house into pitbull training centre complete with treadmill and steroids.

Snoopy had been re-homed to a local couple from the RSPCA’s Altham Animal centre in August - just a month before the attack.

The RSPCA traced the owners from their own records who had helped with the inquiry and were now hoping new witnesses will come forward.

Mr Melloy branded the killer ‘warped’ and said: “We deal with horrendous cases of neglect, but someone has taken this dog, held or restrained a defenceless animal and stabbed it 18 times until it was unconscious or dead.

"You do not get much worse than that.”

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