Shocking footage has emerged of a man using a bat to beat a dog - described by its owners as cuddly and gentle - to death.
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The footage shows three dogs embroiled in a fight in the front yard of a Moncrief home when a man beats one of the dogs - named Karma - to death in an apparent attempt to break up the fight.
![A dog was killed when a man attacked it with a cricket bat trying to break up a dog fight A dog was killed when a man attacked it with a cricket bat trying to break up a dog fight](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/7b3696d4-7ef6-4615-b681-3cd3aa14d1e1/r0_0_559_294_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The owner of the dead dog, Vanessa De Alvia, said the man who killed it was not linked to any of the dogs and was not known to anyone present.
Ms De Alvia said her two dogs escaped the house when children opened the door to greet a neighbour who was holding a small pug.
The pug escaped and ran towards the larger dogs, Ms De Alvia said, and they started a "tug of war" type fight.
Ms De Alvia said all that needed to be done to de-escalate the situation was to pick up the small dog or spray the larger dogs with a hose.
"He was just trying to be a total hero," she said.
Ms De Alvia said her children had been left traumatised, especially her son who saw his pet killed before his eyes.
"He cried all night."
She said the owner of the smaller dog pictured in the footage was also distressed by the events and didn't see the use of force as necessary.
Ms De Alvia said Karma - a pitbull - was a gentle, indoor dog that was used to being around children and other dogs.
She wants charges to be laid against the man, who she said continued to attack Karma even when she was trying to walk away.
"If anything can come of this it's the message don't take a life with your own hands," Ms De Alvia said.
"[Karma] would have rathered die than hurt a human.
"She didn't have a chance after he came along though."
ACT Policing - who attended the home after the initial incident had occurred - said it was helping Domestic Animal Services with its investigations into the dog attack.
DAS would not provide any information as to the status of the investigation.