Russell Brand has been left "devastated" after his dog fatally attacked a wallaby during a walk, The Sun reports.
The deadly attack took place on Monday, June 14, in Oxfordshire, UK, where the 46-year-old comedian lives with his wife Laura Gallacher and their two daughters.
Their town - Henley-on-Thames - is renowned for its population of wild wallabies, which are believed to have escaped from a private collection over two decades ago, per the outlet.
The German Shepherd, named Bear, set its sights on the female wallaby, who had her baby in her pouch.
Although it was too late for the mother, Russell, a known animal lover, did manage to save the baby marsupial from his canine.
A local in the area, where the comic resides with his family in a $5.6 million cottage, spoke to The Sun about the tragedy, telling the outlet: "Absolutely no one is blaming Russell or his dog. It's just a horrible accident.
"In fact, Russell was the hero because he managed to save the little joey. It could have been far worse if he hadn’t stepped in so quickly. He is a very caring man with animals - he has plenty of pets and they’re all his babies. I understand he's devastated over what happened. It’s really sad."
Russell has long been vocal about his stance on animal rights and has not eaten meat since he was 14 years old. According to the paper, he also compared the abuse of animals to slavery.
Needless to say, the death of the creature, at the hands of his beloved pet, troubled him deeply.
He has a very close relationship with Bear and often shares photos of him with his 2.4 million followers on his Instagram account.
Russell lives with his dog, cats, wife, and daughters in the affluent town. He was previously married to Katy Perry between October 23, 2010, and July 16, 2012.
His famous ex-wife is now married to another Brit, Orlando Bloom, with the pair welcoming their own daughter in August 2020.
Russell's first daughter Mabel was born in November 2016 and in July 2018, his second daughter Peggy was born.
