New Delhi, July 23: The pet dog of the family, whose 11 members were found dead at their residence in Burari on July 1, died on heart failure on Sunday evening. The dog, Tommy, was kept at Noida’s House of Stray Animals since 'mass suicide' by the family at their Burari residence.

Tommy, 6, an Indian-Pitbull mix breed, was found chained on the terrace and suffering from high fever when the police discovered 11 bodies. The animal was furious, and an animal rescue team had to struggle for 90 minutes to muzzle the dog and put him in an ambulance.

According to Noida-based animal activist Sanjay Mohapatra, Tommy was depressed and had stopped taking food after the incident. "He was depressed and had anxiety. He knew something had gone amiss with his family," Mohapatra told a newspaper.

After being rescued, the dog was being treated well and he almost completely recovered from physical problems, Mohapatra said. “Tommy seemed fit and fine till Sunday evening. He had his meals on time and also went for a walk at 2 pm. After I took him for a walk in the evening and brought him home by 6 pm, he suffered heart failure and collapsed all of a sudden,’’ he said.

11 bodies - seven females and four males - were recovered from a two-storey house on July 1. Ten of them were hanging with their hands tied, mouths gagged and eyes covered with cloth pieces. The eldest in the Bhatia family -- which was mainly into grocery and plywood businesses -- was found lying dead.

The family was not expecting to die and thought that "the earth will shake" and "there will be thunder in the sky", following which they will be saved.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2018 01:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).