Bound dog dumped in sea

The recovery of a dead dog from the water in Doolin, whose hind legs were bound with cable ties, has shocked and angered locals, members of the search and rescue team that recovered the animal, as well as the local dog warden.

Clare dog warden Frankie Coote said, “I just don’t understand it. It was most malicious.”
The dog was believed to have been a German Shepherd approximately two years of age. “This was a young, healthy dog. He would have been in the water four or five days ago. I don’t understand it, I’m picking up 20 to 25 dogs a week from people and all they had to do if they had a dog they didn’t need any more was call and I would have taken him. There are lovely people in Doolin who would have homed the dog.
“It’s horrible that it happened and that people wouldn’t use us. I don’t condone dropping on the street but at least that is someway humane. You would get a dog washed in at sea and genuinely it could happen that a dog would drown but we know that this wasn’t the case. The dog was dropped in from one of two locations, Doolin Pier or from the bridge in Doolin. It couldn’t have been from any other area where it was,” Mr Coote said.
He speculated it could have been the result of someone taking a neighbour’s dog or someone doing this to their own dog.
“This was alarming, if someone had taken a neighbour’s dog it is unforgiveable, if someone did it to their own dog … we can’t understand these things and anyone capable of doing this, it is just malicious,” Mr Coote added.
According to the dog warden, there was every chance that if he had or the ISCPA received a call that this dog could have been given a new home.
“It is not always a case of going to the pound and having the dog put down. It was a healthy dog, he was guaranteed a home. Why they had to do this, I just don’t understand. This is a criminal offence and I know the courts would take it very seriously,” he said.
Mr Coote believes it will be hard to prove this case but has appealed to the person or persons involved and to the public that there is no need to go down a route such as this.
“Those days are behind us. We have a record in Clare as the worst area for dumping dogs in Ireland and we have often had 1800 dogs put down in the county – another county wouldn’t take that in. We are getting these figures down and then something like this happens and knocks everybody back. No matter what that dog had done if it had been attacking people or livestock, we would have put the dog down humanely,” Mr Coote added.
He has asked anyone who can identify the animal to contact him in confidence on 087 6225253.
Mr Coote has also stressed in the run-up to Christmas that anyone who is thinking of getting a pet should have a proper talk about it to see if firstly the family needs that pet, if they can afford to keep the pet and if they have adequate support and surroundings to look after the pet.