TWO dogs that were beaten with a golf club and pepper sprayed in a break-in say are still traumatised weeks after the attack, their owners say.

Hector and Chika, a Rhodesian ridgeback and a ridgeback cross, were in their York home when burglars kicked through the dog flap and forced their way inside.

The raiders then used a golf club and pepper spray to force the dogs back and locked them in a room, before ransacking the house and fleeing with jewellery, cash and golf clubs.

Owners David and Helen Edmondson said Hector - who was rescued from Cyprus after being badly treated as a puppy - was left with a lump on his head, and had not been the same since the break-in, which happened between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on Friday, November 23.

Mrs Edmondson said: “I think Hector had the brunt of it, anyway. "Chika has always been quite timid, and has separation anxiety.

"They were both rescue dogs and she’s an old girl now, but she’s a bit more sensitive.

“Hector hasn’t had an easy life. Because of what’s happened to him, this will set him back because it’s a trust issue.

"He’s very subdued, very quiet, and still very grumpy. When somebody came to drop off the post he was absolutely going mad.”

Hector - who was recovering from an operation to remove a lump from his side at the time of the attack - is thought to be about four years old, and Chika is eight.

The Edmondsons said the dogs were both still struggling to readjust after the break-in.

Mr Edmondson said: “We’re trying to get them back into a routine, but looking at Hector now, he’s still not right. I think he feels like he’s let us down.

“He’s just like a zombie at the moment. We can still smell the pepper spray in the house, they must have used a lot on him.

"If you walk up the drive, he’s up and away, so I think they’ve come up the back and sneaked up and caught him off-guard."

He added: “The first two days didn’t seem to affect me at all but the last few days, I’ve become more and more angry and more and more down.”

Police said this week that nobody had yet been arrested in connection with the aggravated burglary.

Anyone with any information that could help the police is asked to call them on 101 or email dave.pegg@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.