Devoted dog owner found hanged on day pet put down

A south Yorkshire man who was devoted to his dog was found hanged on the same day his pet was put to sleep by a vet. Steven Anderson, aged 44, of Furnival Way, Wickersley, Rotherham, was found hanging from a tree on Sitwell Park Golf Course, near his home. His beloved dog Beaky - a seven-year-old rough haired Collie - was found in a suitcase close to his body.

Golfers made the grim discovery and raised the alarm but when emergency services arrived Steven was already dead. His shocked ex-partner Dawn Daily, from South Anston, Rotherham, said he had been devoted to his dog. The couple bought the pet together when they were in a relationship and Steven took responsibility for it once they split up.



Dawn, who identified Steven's body, said he would have struggled without his pet. She said: "The dog was his life - it was like his family. He is originally from Cambridgeshire, where the rest of his family is, so he was devoted to Beaky. The dog was everything to him.

"They went everywhere together. He was a lorry driver and would even take him to work with him. Steven might have been feeling low around the time of his death but having to take Beaky to a vet to be put down would have been too much for him. He obviously couldn't go on without his dog - it is so sad."