The devastated owner of a "lovely" husky who died horribly on Saturday has come forward to rule out poisoning.

A man stopped his car and took her, her mother and the dying dog to the vets after the rescue dog was suddenly taken fatally ill in Longmead Road, Ewell, on Saturday.

The driver said an employee at Priory Vets in Reigate told his wife on Monday that the dog was poisoned and as a result he contacted this newspaper to warn other dog walkers.

The veterinary surgery declined to comment on the cause of death due to "data protection".

But today Amy May, 25, contacted this newspaper and said that although there had initially been concerns the dog was poisoned, the vet believed that her husky, called Maggie, died from a "neurological" problem.

Ms May said: "I don’t want dog owners to worry. Because of the way it happened, they think it was something on the brain. It was so instant.

"We were walking her and it just happened all of a sudden. There was no warning. That’s why they believe it was something on the brain, which is very rare. She was chasing a squirrel one minute and in a lot of pain the next."

Ms May said she decided against the vets carrying out an autopsy on Maggie to confirm the cause of death, adding: "They said it’s not going to bring her back."

Her mother Pat Newman said the vet cannot be "100 per cent" sure but she confirmed to them that Maggie was not poisoned saying it looked like a bleed on the brain.

She said: "When I told her the symptoms, she said it definitely doesn’t sound like poisoning to me. Whatever it was, she died a horrible death."

Blair Morrison, who drove them to the veterinary surgery, said he was perplexed as his wife Hayley called Priory Vets on Monday morning to find out what killed the dog.

He said: "A lady called back and told her the dog was dead on arrival and it was poisoning. Maybe that person miscommunicated it."

Priory Vets has so far declined to comment on the case, and confirm the cause of the death, citing "data protection".

Mr Morrison said that on Saturday evening, another driver told them that the same thing had happened at the same spot a few weeks ago.

Concerns about poisoning may have been heightened because there was a spate of dog poisonings in King George park in Ewell a couple of years ago, according to local dog walker Matt Coyne.

He said: "There was someone leaving square lumps of meat with things like tablets in it. Dogs were getting poisoned from that."

Of the husky death, he said: "I’m not happy that the dog died, but I’m glad it was not a poisoning."

Ms May described Mr Morrison as a "local hero" and thanked him for kindly taking them to the vets in Reigate.

She said: "I can’t thank him enough. He didn’t even tell us his name and he didn’t want recognition. He’s a really kind person. It was really nice of him to try and warn other dog owners."

Ms May said she will grow some flowers in memory of Maggie who was adopted from Battersea Dogs Home just five weeks ago.

She said: "I’m in massive shock. She was my whole life for five weeks so it’s been awful. She was extremely happy, really cheeky. She was lovely, that’s why it has been a big shock."