Hound dog shreds Elvis teddy

A TEDDY bear formerly owned by Elvis Presley was destroyed when a guard dog supposed to protect it went on the rampage.

The rare Steiff bear, named Mabel, was due to form the centrepiece of an exhibition at Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, south-west England.

The bear was bought at auction in Memphis, Tennessee, by Somerset aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade for £40,000 (€59,000) and had been loaned to the collection, a Wookey Hole spokesman said.

The dog “went berserk” and ripped the head off the toy, the spokesman added.

Security guard Greg West, 36, was on duty last night when his Doberman, Barney, savaged the bear, which was made in Germany in 1909.

Mr West, from Totterdown, Bristol, said: “Barney has been a model guard dog for over six years. I still can’t believe what happened.

“Either there was a rogue scent of some kind on Mabel which switched on Barney’s deepest instincts, or it could have been jealousy — I was just stroking Mabel and saying what a nice little bear she was.”

Wookey Hole general manager Daniel Medley said some of the bears were kept behind glass but Mabel was on a work surface because she had not yet gone on display.

As well as Mabel, bears worth about £20,000 (€29,000) were damaged as Barney ran amok in the Wookey Bear Collection.

Mr Medley said: “It’s a disaster. The scene is just a horrific mess, with bits of teddy bear everywhere.

“There are a good 100 bears scattered around all over the place.

“I’m not sure how we are going to explain this to the insurance company.

“Mabel was out on a counter but was due to be added to the collection. I’ve spoken to the bear’s owner, Sir Benjamin, and he is not very pleased at all.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to Barney. He is such a sweet dog normally. His owner is very shocked about the whole thing.”