Heartbroken Raunds family warning after puppy dies in football net

The owner of a puppy that suffocated after chewing the family's garden football net has warned others to be aware of the danger.

Ruby, Laura Wilcox's pet Jack Russell and Pug cross, had been left playing happily in the garden moments before her owner discovered the puppy hanging from the goal netting.

The 18-week-old 'Jug' had been chewing the net and twisted the cord around her muzzle, clamping her jaws shut and unable to breathe.

Laura said: "We had been out in the garden. I went upstairs to put away some washing and wondered where Ruby was. She normally would be around my ankles.

"I went downstairs and saw her hanging from the net. I screamed and my neighbours came straight over. They are police officers and could hear it was serious.

"The net was twisted around her muzzle. She just couldn't breathe through her nose.

"Luckily my son Dylan who is four, didn't see. My neighbour scooped him up and took straight round to my mum's house. She lives nearby."

After Ruby was untangled from the net, Laura's partner Antony Smith tried to perform CPR on the lifeless puppy.

Despite rushing Ruby to the vet they were unable to save her life.

Since Ruby's death, Laura, a dancer teacher at Northampton School For Boys, has been fundraising in her puppy's name with help from a dog accessory company that Ruby represented.

Moulton-based Dogtastic Bandanas, who make scrunchies and scarves for dogs, sold a charity set with half of the price going towards Little Irchester animal welfare charity, Animals In Need.

The special edition bandanas raised just under £200 with Laura match funding the donations and rounding-up the fund to £400.

Laura said: "Animals In Need do such fantastic work and they are so close to us.

"It was a horrible freak accident. It's turned my life upside down.

"We didn't think that a football goal would be an issue. If they are not being used remove the netting and put it away."

The family have now got two more puppies, Reggie and Rufus - French Bulldogs.

She added: "I'm begging people to check their gardens for anything that could cause suffocation - anything that has string dangling."

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