LOVE Island's Molly-Mae Hague broke down in tears last night as she spoke about the shock death of her puppy Mr Chai, saying: "He was our baby."
The 21-year-old reality star - who was given the dog by boyfriend Tommy Fury as a birthday present last week - explained he vomited on hearing the news while she was convinced it was a cruel prank.
Speaking in a YouTube video, she also hit out at people who accused them of having the pet shipped over from Russia to be a social media 'accessory'.
Molly-Mae said: "People that are saying we bought him for Instagram likes, please stop saying that.
"Our lives are on social media, my full-time job is to show you guys what I'm doing. If I didn't have Instagram, he wouldn't be on Instagram.
"We're not asking for any kind of sympathy. What's happened is awful. I'm asking you to understand that the dog travelling from Russia is not the reason he died."
Mr Chai became a social media sensation in his short life, quickly achieving 'influencer' status after 150,000 people followed the account set up for him on Instagram.
Speaking last night Molly-Mae said: "I can't even explain how happy we were when we got him. He was absolutely everything. He was just perfect.
"We just had our little baby - it was like we'd had a baby."
Saying they soon came to believe he had health problems, she explained: "For the first two days he was absolutely fine.
"From two days in, we started to pick up on a few things so we took him to the vet. I could tell something wasn't right."
She explained that she and boxer Tommy left him at the vets for treatment and got the devastating news he had died in a phone call the following morning.
Molly-Mae said: "The vet rang up and said Chai had a seizure and he died. Tommy literally threw up everywhere.
"I was like: 'It's a prank' as we get prank called all the time and she was like: 'No, your dog has died.'"
Explaining they paid for a fast-track autopsy, the star claimed: "Chai's skull wasn't fully developed. Part of his brain was exposed. In a tiny dog, any knock probably wasn't very helpful."
She added: "Whilst we completely understand everyone's opinions about being shipped over from Russia, what you need to understand is that is not what made him die."
Molly also hit back at claims they had taken the dog out before he'd had has vaccinations, saying: "Chai had every single one - we have the paperwork. He was four and a half months old."
Today, the breeder who sold Tommy the dog insisted the pet was healthy, saying she had "rigorous processes in place to check animal health".
The Facebook account for Tiffany Chihuahuas & Pomeranians posted: "I only work with trusted people and have a small network of reputable breeders who care for their dogs to the very highest standards and see animals as part of their family.
"I have rigorous processes in place to check animal health and the suitability of forever homes providing support and guidance for health and wellbeing throughout.
"I have worked with dogs my entire life and this has never happened before."