We make every apology for publishing this disturbing picture. However, we haven't done it to be sensationalist . . . but in the hope it will prompt someone to name the callous killers who threw this pregnant King Charles Spaniel into a river with a 10kg weight tied to her.

She would have made the ideal family pet.

With a beautiful golden coat, soft floppy ears and enormous brown eyes she would have made the perfect companion for any dog lover.

But instead animal welfare experts have been left shocked by the callous way in which a King Charles Spaniel was drowned in a Hampshire river.

The defenceless animal, which it is believed could have been expecting puppies, had a 10-kilogram dumb-bell weight tied to her brown leather lead before being thrown into the River Test and allowed to drown.

Katy Geary of the RSPCA said: "We're appalled by this act of deliberate cruelty and we'd urge anyone with any information to come forward to catch whoever has carried out this despicable act on a defenceless animal.

"If animals get too much for people there are centres where they can hand them in. There's no excuse for doing something like this."

The crime was reported to river keeper Martin Donovan at 10am on Saturday morning.

He said: "A couple of dog walkers knocked on my door. They said a dog had been thrown in the river with a dumb-bell round its neck and they were worried kids might see it.

"They were pretty shaken up.

"If my kids saw it they'd be devastated. We've got a spaniel."

The father-of-three, who lives in Nursling, was last night hoping a CCTV camera which pictures everyone who walks to the river from Mill Lane near where he made the gruesome discovery might produce pictures of the killers.

He said: "I'd love to catch whoever did this. It sums up the evil times we live in."

Edward Harrap of police force inquiries said: "That is a crime beyond a shadow of a doubt."

He said the killers could be put in prison for more than six months.

Duty inspector Antonia Weeks urged anyone with any information to contact the police or the RSPCA.

DO YOU KNOW WHO DID IT? CONTACT THE POLICE ON 0845 045 45 45 OR THE RSPCA ON 0870 555 5999.