Un-bearable! Dastardly Doberman destroys Elvis's teddy bear

Last Updated Thu, 03 Aug 2006 10:53:05 EDT

The fur was flying in Somerset, England, on Thursday after a guard dog went on a rampage at a teddy bear collection, badly damaging Elvis Presley's bear Mabel, which had just gone on display.

Barney the Doberman guard dog sits with security guard Greg West at the Wookey Hole Caves Park in Wells, England. (Associated Press)

Authorities struggled to explain what triggered Barney the guard dog's attack at the popular display at the Wookey Hole Caves Park in Wells, England, about 175 kilometres southwest of London.

"It's a terrible disaster," Daniel Medley, the park's general manager, told CBC News.

There must have been some kind of scent, Medley said, "that made the dog go berserk."

Barney first tore into Mabel, a bear that was recently purchased at an auction in Memphis, Tenn., for $85,000 Cdn. Mabel had once been owned by a young Elvis and was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff.

The bear's owner, Sir Benjamin Slade, had put it on display at the collection "just a few days ago," Medley said.

When the mauling was over, Mabel's chest had a gaping hole and its head had nearly been torn off.

But the trouble was far from over with the six-year-old Doberman pinscher.

"Once Mabel had been prised out of his jaws he then went on a rampage," Medley said. When it was over, about 100 bears in all had been damaged.

This teddy bear once owned by Elvis Presley was damaged by the guard dog. (Wookey Hole Caves/Associated Press)

"He was pulling arms off, heads off," Medley said and there was fluffy stuffing everywhere.

The bear display at Wookey Hole Caves had been deemed so valuable that the park's insurance company had required guard dogs be on duty.

Sir Benjamin, who sent someone to collect Mabel's remains from the park, is reportedly very upset.

"He's not speaking to anyone," Medley said. "We just want to apologize to him."

As for Barney, Medley said he's been stripped of his guard dog duties and will be retired to a farm "where he can chase chickens."