Briton 'hangs himself after his dog's death'

A British dog lover has taken his own life after having to have his pet put down by a vet, a media report said.

According to The Sun, 44-year-old Steven Anderson of Wickersley, Rotherham, was found hanging from a tree with the body of his seven-year-old pet dog Collie Beaky packed into a suitcase nearby. Golfers made the grim discovery at Sitwell Park Golf Club, near Rotherham, the report said.

His shocked former partner Dawn Daily was quoted by the British tabloid as saying, "He obviously couldn't go on without his dog -- it is so sad. 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 and Dawn had bought the pooch while they were in a relationship but when they split he kept the pet. After the dog fell ill, he took it to the vet but the animal could not be saved.

Dawn said: "Having to take Beaky to a vet to be put down would have been too much for him." Steve Bell, Secretary of Sitwell Park Golf Club, was quoted as saying, "Members were playing the 15th hole on the course when they found the body hanging from a tree. The police and ambulance arrived quickly but he was already dead. "We offer our condolences to the family -- everybody at the club is shocked."

An inquest into his death, which is not being treated as suspicious, has been opened and adjourned while enquiries into the circumstances are carried out on behalf of Coroner for Rotherham, the newspaper said.