A family dog has mauled newborn twin girls to death in Brazil.
Reports say the twins named Anne and Analú were mauled to death by the animal when their mother, Elaine Novais, left them briefly to speak to a neighbour outside their apartment.
The 29-year-old mother of the twins rushed to her bedroom after she heard the cries of her 26 day-old babies, according to reports.
On reaching the room, she pulled the dog away from the children but the animal had already critically damaged the abdomen of the two girls.
They were reportedly rushed to the hospital but doctors said that one of the babies died even before reaching the hospital while the other one suffered a cardiac arrest.
The dog responsible for the killing is Labrador and American Foxhound mix, reports suggest.
The animal had been with the family for five years and has been described usually docile and calm. However, the dog had become increasingly jealous after losing affection from its owners since the arrival of the twin girls Anne and Analú.
Reports also added that the baby girls who arrived a month early died on June 23, the same day they were scheduled to be born by cesarean.
By Melvin Tarlue