Man who restrained pitbull after it attacked another dog wasn't worried for his own safety 'at all'

THE MAN who bravely restrained the pitbull that attacked another dog in Castletroy last week has spoken out about the experience.

Speaking to Liveline on RTE Radio 1, Luis Eduardo described playing with his two-year-old daughter at home when he suddenly heard barking and a woman screaming. He looked towards the Greenway in front of his house and saw a pitbull attacking a small dog.

Mr Eduardo said he immediately ran outside to help the dog’s owner, who was trying to hit the pitbull to get it to release her dog. The pitbull was without a leash, a muzzle, or an owner.

When their efforts, which involved hitting the pitbull with a child’s scooter and a bicycle, did not work, Mr Eduardo grabbed the dog by the neck and got it into a chokehold.

“The only thing that came to my mind was, OK, he will not release, so I need to block his air and try to release the puppy and stop this," said Mr Eduardo.

READ MORE: Pitbull that savaged dog in Limerick investigated in relation to separate incident last year

When the owner eventually removed the smaller animal from the grip of the pitbull, Mr Eduardo described hearing the sound of bones breaking.

He explained how he was only focused on the lives of the nearby children - of which there were approximately 20, aged “from 2-years-old to 10-years-old”, including his own child - and was not thinking about his own safety "at all".

Mr Eduardo begged a passing cyclist to help him restrain the animal, and together they got the animal under control. The dog died during this attempt to restrain it. 

“I wish this did not happen”, Mr Eduardo stated, “There was no other way to stop this… it was really dangerous for the kids.”

He said that he “would like to know if the pup is fine” and if there is anything that he can do “for the lady or for the pup”.