THIS is the harrowing moment a German Shepherd is dragged to its death by its lead from a fast-moving car in Belgium.

The owner’s house was burned down by furious vigilantes seeking “revenge” – but he claims the whole thing was a tragic accident.

Footage captured by another motorist – too graphic to publish in full – shows the lifeless dog pinned against the right side of a car driving through Dalhem, eastern Belgium.

It appears to be held fast by the neck, with its head up by the rear passenger window.

The rest of its body hangs down and drags along the road – with damage to its lower limbs evident.

The dog was dragged like this for several miles at around 50mph.

The footage was posted to Facebook in a now-deleted post – and sparked a storm of anger.

An online manhunt ensued and, despite the car’s number plate being blurred out, sleuths were able to track down the owner.

At first he was subjected only to online threats – but this escalated severely when somebody set fire to his home, with the man inside.

He was able to leave the house, which was also vandalised with messages including “dog killer” and “revenge for your dog”.

The owner went to the police station to give his version of events.

He claimed his dog’s death was a complete accident, according to the Liège prosecutor’s office.

He said he had left the dog in the car boot while he went to a cafe but, unbeknown to him, it had jumped through the window, which had apparently been broken.

The man said he got in the car and drove off believing his pet was asleep in the back.

Prosecutors reported: “He said he was alerted to the situation by a female driver flashing her headlights.

“It was at that moment that he realized his dog was hanging outside the right rear window of his vehicle.

“The man untied it, put it in the trunk, and drove off.”

The local’s friends flocked to his defence, insisting that the pooch was like his son.

One said: “He would never hurt his dog.”

Another said: “He never leaves Ares’s side, whether it’s to go to work or to come to the cafe.”

And a third vowed they had never seen the pet owner be violent towards an animal.

One of his supporters said that the man was deeply upset by the death of his dog.

They speculated that a passerby had broken the window out of misplaced concern for the creature left in the car.

The mayor of Oupeye said he was “shocked by the dramatic turn of events in the case”.

Mayor Serge Fillot said: “Personally, it is the first time that I have witnessed this type of event, namely a shocking, dramatic event, which is publicized, followed by a manhunt organized on Facebook with an identification of the person, whom I know, and which leads during the night to revenge, an attempt at revenge which could also have resulted in the death of the person.”

Prosecutors are running two concurrent investigations: one into possible animal abuse and the other into the threats and arson against the owner.