DOG WALK DEBORAH STRANGLED BY LEADS
Family’s heartbreak over mum-of-four after tragedy with her ‘beautiful’ pets
A DOG walker was strangled when she fell and her two pets pulled their leads tight around her neck while trying to help her, an inquest heard.
Deborah Mary Roberts, 47, was out with Staffordshire bull terriers Tyson and Ruby, who were said to have begun “fiercely yanking” on their leads to try to get her back up after her tumble.
The hearing was told a child walking with motherof-four Mrs Roberts ran to find help. But by the time two workmen arrived at the scene in Wrexham, North Wales, in July, she was unresponsive.
Emergency services were called but despite efforts to save her, Mrs Roberts – who suffered from the neurodegenerative condition Huntington’s disease – died.
In a statement, one of the workmen told how the dogs stayed with warehouse worker Mrs Roberts and were “crying” after seeing their owner unconscious.
And son Robert told the inquest in
Ruthin, North Wales: “They are beautiful dogs. If you met them now, they’d just jump up and lick you.
“All they were doing is trying to help their mum when she fell.”
North Wales Assistant Coroner David Pojur said Mrs Roberts may have stumbled as a result of her condition.
But he said he did not know why the leads had been around her neck.
Describing the circumstances of the case as “tragic”, the coroner noted Tyson and Ruby were not dangerous and were, in fact, “loving and caring animals”.
Mr Pojur recorded a conclusion of accidental death, which was caused by asphyxiation as a result of strangulation by a lead.
Another son, Callum, said after the hearing: “She was a very energetic person with a very contagious smile who loved her friends and family. She would do anything for anyone. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.”
They were trying to help their mum when she fell
SON ROBERT ON HOW THE TRAGEDY HAPPENED