Jane Heaney with the family’s pets, Fudge and Sky, at their home in Edinburgh.

By Democrat reporter

A family have been left devastated after their chihuahua was killed in an attack by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier on Portobello beach in Edinburgh.

Owner Helen Heaney, who works with the NHS in the city’s West End, was walking her two small dogs at the west end of the promenade when one of her pets, Fudge was targeted by the out-of-control Staffie.

In a sudden attack, Fudge had to be pulled from the Staffie’s jaws before the injured dog keeled over and died of fright following the attack on Friday afternoon.

Helen told The Scotsman newspaper that the owner of the Staffie had three dogs off the lead and that they were all “totally out of control” before one of them attacked her dog.

This weekend, the Heaney family have appealed to the public as they desperately try to find witnesses to the attack.

In a tweet, Helen’s husband Bryan, who is originally from Dumbarton, described the three other dogs as all Staffordshire-cross types, two of which were brown and the other black.

Helen said: “The dogs love going for a walk on Portobello beach and we go to the quiet end.

“There weren’t too many people around just after 12pm, but this man started walking towards us with his three dogs.

“I was a bit worried about them being off the lead, but the man smiled at me. Then the black one went for Fudge and started chasing him – he had this glint in his eye. I picked up Sky.”

As Helen was protecting Sky from harm, the black Staffie grabbed Fudge and the dogs’ owner had to pull the little chihuahua free from its jaws.

Helen said: “I tried to walk away. He couldn’t control his dogs – they were just going mad now. He was kicking them and shouting at them.

“I could feel Fudge fading, so I had to race to the vets.”

Looking back on the devastating attack, she added: “He didn’t have a mark on him so he wasn’t mauled. The vet said he had died of a heart attack from the fright of the attack.”