Police hunt for the criminals who killed Ricky.

Rome police are hunting for the burglars responsible for throwing a dog to its death from the sixth floor of an apartment block after a failed robbery on Friday.

The dog, a 10-year-old cocker spaniel called Ricky, was at home alone when the thieves broke into the residence in the Monteverde Vecchio neighbourhood, La Repubblica reports.

The break-in triggered an alarm, notifying the owners who immediately returned home to discover that nothing had been stolen but their pet was nowhere to be seen.

They subsequently found Ricky lying on the ground of a neighbour's first-floor terrace before racing to the vet with their dog.

However nothing could be done for the animal which died of severe injuries sustained in the violent impact, La Stampa reports.

One theory is that the thieves attempted to carry the dog away but as they fled they threw the animal off the sixth-floor terrace.

The killing of Ricky, which has sparked a wave of outrage on social media, was slammed as "a horrible act of cowardice and cruelty" by Rome's guarantor for animals Patrizia Prestipino, who is responsible for raising awareness for animal protection.

"How can you kill an innocent being in this way?", Prestipino wrote on Instragram, expressing the hope that the culprits will face justice, as well as sending "a hug of solidarity to Ricky's family".

The dog's owners told news outlet RomaToday they would offer a reward to anyone who has information relating to the incident or anyone who saw "any suspicious people entering the building" on Via Carini, by contacting RomaToday via WhatsApp (3451709348).

The Italian Association for the Defense of Animals and the Environment (AIDAA) is also ready to pay a €5,000 reward - RomaToday reports - to anyone who, with "their formal complaint to the authorities who are investigating the case, will help to identify and definitively condemn the perpetrators of this crime".