A five-month-old Chihuahua was killed by a pair of “staffies” in Crystal Palace Park before it had even learned to bark.

Sophie Tancos, 32, was out with her nine-year-old son Abrish and their puppy Rio on Saturday, January 21 when they were attacked.

Lindsay Scigliano, a friend of Sophie, said: There was one man on a bike with staffies. The guy was listening to music and smoking a joint.

“He was attacked and carried off in the mouth of a dog in front of his owner and her nine-year-old son as well as many fellow dog walkers and died in the mouth of the dog in question.

“Despite a crowd of people trying to save Rio from the dog, we were unable to get the dog to release him.”

Lindsay, a Canadian singer an actress, was at the woman’s march in central London on Saturday so Sophie was taking care of Rio.

Lindsay said: “Sophie is from Hungary, a single mum and she has health problems, so she needed somebody to help her raising her dog. It was perfect for me because I work from home and can have Rio whenever.

“I never really liked Chihuahuas before but he was very it smart and loved everyone he met. He didn’t even know how to bark yet.”

A GoFundMe page was opened to raise money to cremate Rio, which reached its goal of £700 in less than 24 hours.