A Heartbreaking Photo Shows A Toronto Man Holding The Body Of His Beloved Dachshund

    RIP Dacky.

    Lauren Strapagiel
    by Lauren Strapagiel

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, Canada

    Last Wednesday, Kurt Haupt stood helplessly in a Toronto park holding the mauled body of his beloved dachshund Dacky as the dogs who allegedly killed him walked away.

    The gut-wrenching moment was captured in a photo shared on The Toronto Pet Daily's Facebook page. Haupt, 81, was at Etobicoke's Centennial Park last week walking Dacky, a senior himself at 14 years old. That's when, police allege, Haupt encountered a man walking four Italian mastiffs off-leash who then attacked 15-pound Dacky.

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    facebook.com / Via Facebook: thetorontopetdaily

    The gut-wrenching moment was captured in a photo shared on The Toronto Pet Daily's Facebook page.

    Haupt, 81, was at Etobicoke's Centennial Park last week walking Dacky, a senior himself at 14 years old. That's when, police allege, Haupt encountered a man walking four Italian mastiffs off-leash who then attacked 15-pound Dacky.

    “My dog, she runs towards them. Immediately they grabbed her and dropped her," he told CityNews. “I knew she was dead.”

    CityNews / Via citynews.ca

    He held Dacky's body in his arms as a the dogs' owner rounded them up and walked away without a word to Haupt.

    The photo, taken by a witness, helped lead police to Kiriakos Nendos, who has now been charged with mischief. Toronto Animal Services also removed five dogs from his West End home.

    It's a devastating loss for Haupt, who is single and childless and described Dacky as his best friend.

    Go Fund Me / Via gofundme.com

    "My little dog. She loved everybody. She was so friendly," Haupt told the Toronto Sun.

    Thanks to the help of total strangers, Haupt will have a little help dealing with the loss. A GoFundMe campaign has now raised enough money to cover his vet bills with enough left over for "a few things to make his life a little brighter."

    Sue Dunstan, who started the campaign, wrote that she "just felt like I needed to do something for this lovely older gentleman to let him know he is not alone in this world."