This article is from page 10 of the 2012-10-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A LARGE dog, which savagely attacked a number of other dogs in Shannon last week, was apprehended while playing outside with 12 young children.
The dog, which was a German Shepherd/ Husky cross-breed, went on a bloody rampage last Wednesday, before it was captured by Clare dog warden, Frankie Coote.
According to Frankie, Shannon has become a major blackspot for dangerous dogs and he appealed for pet-owners to take care of their pets properly.
“A lady was walking a small Yorkshire Terrier on a lead. She had just come out of her gate when a German Shepherd/ Husky cross-breed grabbed her dog by the neck and, in one snap, killed it. She was terrorised by the incident, understandably” said Mr Coote.
“I was on my way down to this incident when I received another call from the gardaí to say that another dog had been attacked. I found the dog in a housing estate running around with 12 or 14 very young children.
“I was able to capture the dog and, luckily enough, he had not attacked any young persons at that time. He was desperate to meet any small dogs and he would have killed anyone that he came across.”
The owner of the dog has been located and the owner has given permission for the dog to be put down.
“This a big issue with large dogs in Clare. If a small pet dog goes a bit wild, it can be controlled, but these [big] dogs could do serious damage. That dog in Shannon could kill another dog with one bite – that could just as easily have been a child,” continued Mr Coote.
“Shannon has become the blackspot in Clare when it comes to dangerous dogs. It really has. I’ve had major problems in other areas in the past – in Ennis and Kilrush and other areas – but Shannon really is a big problem and it is showing no sign of getting better just yet.
“People need to realise just what their dogs are capable of doing.”