This is the shocking moment two large Staffordshire dogs play tug-of-war with the body of a tiny Dachshund which they snatched as it walked down the street.

The grim footage was shot in Vladivostok in Russia where locals claim that the two Staffordshire terrier dogs are owned by a middle-aged woman who cannot control them and had terrorised the area for a long time.

They added that the owner appeared not to care and that seems to be borne up with the video where the two dogs had attacked the rival pet by grabbing it one at each end and literally tearing the little dog apart.

The woman owner can be seen pulling one of the Staffordshire dogs and the elderly man who owns the toy dog can be seen pulling the other, but the animals only let go when a third person turns up and appears to grab something from her handbag which she sprays at the dogs, possibly a self-defence spray.

But the body of the dog is beyond saving and the badly savaged animal is seen lying on the street, at which point the two Staffordshire terriers appear to lose interest.

The owner of the mauled dog, an elderly man, took his pet to the vet, who could only confirm that it was beyond saving. The pensioner said that he had recently lost his partner and the dog had been his only comfort.

The footage was shot at the end of October but has only come to light now.

It is being used to gather petitions to force council officials to act before a person or possibly a young child is also attacked.