A GOAT was savaged in a dog attack on a family farm on Portland.

Dave was the first goat Jon and Su Illsley brought that set them off on the path to creating Fancy’s Farm on the island.

They are urging dog walkers to keep their pets on a lead after the attack on Sunday morning, which was so bad that Dave had to be put to sleep by a vet.

Mrs Illsley said she received a call from Jon to say a dog had got into the field with the goats and had attacked eight-year-old Dave.

The field the goats are kept in has a four foot tall fence with sheep netting at the bottom, barbed wire above and an electric fence on top.

Mr Illsey managed to catch the dog, a Labrador cross Poodle or Labradoodle, and put it in the back of a truck. He then went to deal with Dave, who was not killed in the attack. They called the vet who came out and had to put him to sleep.

Afterwards they examined Dave and found the attack had left him with his stomach ripped out and neck injuries, Mrs Illsley added: “There were serious bite marks on his rump.”

Dave was one of the founder members of the farm.

Mrs Illsley said: “He was the first goat we brought that started us off on our crazy mission to start Fancy’s Farm.”

She added: “We’re upset and devastated.

“It’s not just affected us, it’s affected everyone.”

Mrs Illsey said that they had been informed that the owner had voluntarily taken the dog to be put to sleep yesterday.

She said: “I feel sorry for the owner. It’s a horrible thing. It needn’t have happened if the dog was under control on a lead.”

She said it was bad for everyone involved but was ‘totally preventable.’ Mrs Illsley said her message to people was ‘Keep dogs on leads.’ She said: “People have to be more responsible with their animals.”