BBC viewers told ‘shame on you’ after watching duck attacked live by dog

After a duck was attacked by a dog during a BBC Breakfast interview with the RSPCA, a woman helped rescue the poorly animal and get her to a vet.

Vivi, who runs a Richmond photography Instagram account, has been sharing updates with her followers about the aquatic bird, Lupita.

The feathered animal was targeted by a swimming dog who chased her as she tried to escape, and it was all captured on live TV.

Some viewers noted the irony of the situation, as the woman being interviewed from the animal charity had just uttered the words: ‘Our pets are completely under our control.’

When chaos then ensued in the background as the dog swam up to its prey, some of those watching found it funny and were making it known online – they might not have realised at the time that the duck suffered serious injuries.

Alongside pictures of the ‘mauled’ animal Vivi, who goes by Veev on the photo-sharing app, wrote: ‘Shame on those who have thought it was funny, an unruly dog grabbing a very beloved duck and nearly killing it.’

The photographer documented the rescue mission.

Writing on Instagram, she recalled how somebody stayed on the riverside the night the attack happened to look out for the injured duck.

Yesterday morning, Vivi explained that a man named Mark managed to pick Lupita out of the water, so they could get her ‘the help she needs’.

In her post, she said: ‘Right now she is in my bathroom, quiet and eating and drinking and the rescue lady is on her way.’

In a later update, she explained that the independent bird rescuer had taken Lupita to a wildlife vet in Wokingham because her leg was ‘quite bad’.

Vivi later shared a picture of Lupita’s broken pelvis on an X-ray scan.

Under the picture, she wrote: ‘She is at our lovely rescuer Ann’s house on meds and we hope the break fixes itself.’

Responding to a question on one of her posts about why the duck has a name, Vivi claimed: ‘She and others are named because they are regulars on the riverside.

‘The breed is called Domestic Duck and they were owned by someone who four years ago dumped them on the river and a few of us have been looking after them.’

She urged her followers to ‘keep everything crossed’ for Lupita, who she says is ‘in a bad way’.