A DOG died after becoming entangled in the inner tube of a bike tyre in the River Ouse.

Sandra Guilfoyle’s dog Jimmy was a strong swimmer and was playing in the river in Clifton, York, when he got into difficulty last week.

She said: “He was going down. I left the other two [dogs], took off my jacket and threw myself in and swam over to him. I was pulling him and he was just going down.

“There was something black round his head and mouth, and his tongue was hanging out. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I thought it was a belt, black and thin. He was a massive dog, but I managed to drag and carry him to the beach and shouted for help.”

Sandra managed to pull Jimmy to the shore, but it was too late.

Sandra said: “I was trying to press his chest but didn’t know what to do. He just died in my arms. He was still breathing and his eyes were moving, and then he was just gone."

“I was just beyond myself I was shouting ‘not my Jimmy’. A woman came down and tried to help and suddenly people were just there I have a vague memory of that.”

Jimmy was originally found tied up outside a shop in Tottenham in the winter of 2010, abandoned in the cold for several hours.

Sandra said: “We took him in, didn’t think it was going to work and he turned out to be best part of our life.

“He was just a staffy cross, just full of life, but brought a toy to whoever came in and wanted to engage with everyone. He was just full of life.”

The black ‘belt’ was actually the inner tube of a mountain bike tyre, and Sandra said she was worried that the next fatality in the river could be a child or a teenager.

She said: “It’s the butterfly effect, everything you do has consequences. Somebody’s utter disregard for humans ended up causing so much pain and suffering.

“Yesterday when we got there there were teenagers splashing in the water and it could easily happen to them. I suppose some things never reach a certain level of society. I at least want the dog walkers to be aware, as we see a lot down there. I would hate to read something like this happen to someone else.”

Sandra, who is originally from Bosnia and saw armed conflict there, said Jimmy’s death was “in the two most traumatic things I’ve seen in my life”.

She said: “It was absolutely horrific.

“He deserved better. He had a good life, but a terrible end. He was king of the house but he gave us pleasure of knowing him and being around him.

“Jimmy was just one of those dogs that just clicks with you. He had a bad start, a great middle, and a tragic ending, thanks to some idiot.

“I just want to highlight it and maybe it will make somebody think twice before they throw a shopping trolley or bike or something.

"I have no doubt next time it could be a child.”