A LEADING animal charity is calling on dog owners to have their pets neutered after a Wirral pooch was ripped apart in an horrific attack while its owner was at work.

The RSPCA was called to an address in Leasowe on Tuesday afternoon after a concerned member of the public contacted the police.

A male dog was found dead in the garden, surrounded by eight other dogs that lived at the property.

RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes told the Globe the dog had been killed in an attack by some of the other dogs while the owner was out at work, an attack he believes could have been avoided.

While there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the owner, Inspector Joynes has urged fellow dog owners to keep less pets and have them neutered to avoid what he called an “accident waiting to happen”.

“If you meet all of the dog’s needs entirely by giving them space, feed them properly and give them the right environment, it reduces the chances of something like this happening,” said Inspector Joynes.

“The dogs were normal pets, they were in a good condition – none of them are banned breeds but some of them haven’t been neutered.

“People have got to get their animals neutered. I’m not saying that if they had all been neutered this would not have happened but it’s a preventative measure that should be taken.

Inspector Joynes said the RSPCA would not be seeking a prosecution in this case but had issued welfare advice to the owner.

The charity said the dogs were a mix of genders and breeds, including German Shepherd and Jack Russell.

It will be helping the owner - who is believed to have had the pets for a number of years - to have the remaining dogs neutered.

While Inspector Joynes believes this particular incident could have been avoided, he said dogs can sometimes act “out of character”.

He said: “When you’ve got so many dogs and numerous males and females together, there is a hierarchy type system and if they aren’t neutered, there are hormones flying around and all it takes is for one of the males to try and mount a female and a fight breaks out with the dominate male. In this case, the weaker male lost.

“People go out for eight or nine hours a day, which they are entitled to do, leaving two fully male dogs in the back garden – it could be an accident waiting to happen.”

While a love of animals can often lead to people having large numbers of pets, Inspector Joynes said doing so can increase the risks.

He said: “There is no law that says you can’t have five, six, seven or even eight dogs as long as they are looked after to a good standard.

“If you meet your animal’s needs on every level things are less likely to go wrong but the more animals you have, the lower the welfare standards are.

“I just urge people to have one or two animals and look after them to a really good standard.”