Burglars drown seven-month-old puppy, leaving owners 'devastated'

Susan Walker says she has told her children the dog is missing

Benji the puppy, apparently drowned in a bath by burglars (Mark Phillips/PA Wire)

The owners of a seven-month-old puppy have been left “devastated” after it was apparently drowned by burglars.

Benji the Cockapoo was found dead in a bath by mother-of-two Susan Walker at her house in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, after a break-in earlier this week.

She said the image of her dead dog would “haunt” her forever.

Ms Walker had returned to her home to find it had been ransacked. A number of objects were missing, including electronic devices, medication and IDs.

But her bathroom door had been jammed shut and the puppy was missing.

It was kicked down by Ms Walker’s brother, Gareth Deacon-Walker, and Benji was found in the bath.

"Everything we lost is immaterial. The fact we lost the puppy is the most devastating thing," Ms Walker, 33, told the Eastern Daily Press.

"I came straight down and told [her partner] Mark to not go upstairs.

"That sight will haunt me for the rest of my life."

She added: "Benji was really playful and part of the family. I have not told the children what has happened. We have told them he has gone missing and police are helping us find him."

Ms Walker's partner, Mark Phillips, 40, was reduced to tears by the sight of Benji's body in the bath.

Detective Sergeant Richard Wallis said: "This is a particularly cruel crime and I would urge anyone who may have seen any suspicious behaviour in the area at around the time of the burglary to come forward."

Additional reporting by Press Association