Dog put down after 'absolutely savage' attack on woman and child at Limerick border
‘If any dog was capable of killing someone, he was. He was that dangerous,’ said Clare Dog Warden Frankie Coote
INVESTIGATIONS are underway after a woman and a child were attacked by an “absolutely savage” dog, who has since been put down. The incident occurred on the Limerick-Clare border last weekend.
Gardaí and emergency services responded to the incident, involving a sheepdog, at O’Briensbridge, Co Clare, on Saturday, August 8. It occurred at approximately 10:55am.
A woman, aged in her 50s, received injuries believed to be non-life-threatening during the attack. County Clare Dog Warden Frankie Coote also confirmed that the dog attacked a boy, who was hospitalised and discharged some hours later. The current condition of the woman is not known.
The services of the county’s dog warden were requested by gardaí on the morning of August 8. Frankie Coote attended the scene after being made aware that a sheepdog had “gone loose” and attacked the woman.
Speaking to Limerick Live on the terrifying incident, Mr Coote said, “It was a serious attack and the guards said they couldn't get anywhere near the dog. He was just too vicious.
“He was coming out chasing other people and in the meantime, before I got there, it turned out, you see, my jurisdiction is Clare, when I went down, it was just outside of it in Limerick- outside the border, about four miles.
“When I was traveling there, he attacked the young fella. The young fella was let out of the hospital a couple of hours later. The woman wasn't.
“The dog was just absolutely savage.
“If any dog was capable of killing someone, he was. He was that dangerous. It's unusual for a sheepdog.
“He was one of the worst I've ever seen and it just proves again that it doesn't have to be an XL bully or a Rottweiler or a bulldog to do damage,” said Mr Coote, who confirmed that the animal had to be sedated at the scene.
The Clare dog warden said he had “no choice” but to put the sheepdog down in the aftermath of the ordeal.
Gardaí said that no further information is available at this time but that investigations remain ongoing.