Friend of woman killed by pack of dogs in Surrey said she 'loved animals and they loved her'

The friend of a young woman mauled to death by eight dogs she was walking told how she lived her life ‘loving animals’ and said ‘dogs loved her’ as she paid tribute. 

Natasha Johnston, 28, died after a frenzied attack at the Gravelly Hill beauty spot in Caterham, Surrey, on January 12. An inquest heard yesterday she died by ‘multiple penetrating dog bites to the neck’.

Speaking to the Telegraph, she described the victim as a sporty, funny, ordinary person who was quietly confident and had her whole life ahead of her. 

‘She’s not a person who would rip people off or do awful things, she was a person living a straightforward life, living with her dad, driving a beat-up car, walking dogs and loving animals,’ she told the newspaper.  

‘She was funny, she was a dry person that didn’t have a lot to prove – like a lot of people want to prove that they’re funny or love sport or whatever – she wasn’t like that, more of a stoic person who was just focused on managing her day and dog walking.

‘My dog loved her, dogs loved her and she was very on it if a dog was misbehaving – she was absolutely straight on it and very focused.’

The friend said they had been in shock since Ms Johnston’s name was released and never thought it would be someone they knew. 

They said they had walked dogs with the victim before – and had also paid her to walk their dogs. 

Source of data and images: dailymail