A FIVE-week-old puppy suffered extensive injuries and was dumped, before dying, in what Clare’s county dog warden has described as “one of the worst things I’ve seen”.
The small black terrier was found by a young boy and had a broken back and two broken legs. The cold and wet animal had been thrown in a bush near Our Lady’s Hospital.
Mr Coote was contacted and efforts were made to save the pup but he sadly died on the way to the vet.
The dog warden believes that an attempt was made to deliberately kill the pup.
“It’s terrible what was done. He was in a lot of pain. He had two broken back legs and his back was severed, you could clearly see it was broken. Fair play to the young boy for having the sense to bring him to us. It was traumatising and terrible for the pup but it was also terrible for that young boy to see also. We wrapped the dog in a towel to bring him to the vet but I had just got to the Maid of Éireann Roundabout when he died,” he said.
Mr Coote ruled out the possibility that the animal could have been accidentally struck.
“Somebody tried to kill it, they thought he was dead when they threw him in the bush. I would say he was there since the evening before, they probably did it in the dark. I was surprised for anything to survive for that long, what they had done to him.”
He continued, “It’s one of the worst things I have seen for a while.”
The warden urged anybody who has an unwanted dog to contact the pound or rescue services, rather than resort to cruelty.
“I would say to whoever owned that pup, we’re only a phonecall away and there are rescue organisations that could have taken that dog.”
Meanwhile, two of the three labrador pups found thrown into a river in Lissycasey last July have sadly died. The pups had been in the care of Martina Babydog Rescue, after they were discovered at Frure.
It was believed that they had been thrown into the river from the bridge, in a bid to drown them. The bodies of two other dogs from the same litter were also found in the water, with rocks tied to them.
After they were rescued, two of the pups were cared for by Martina Babydog, while a third was taken in by a local person.
Mr Coote said this week that the vet has confirmed that the two pups suffered from an immunity disorder. “Martina did everything for them. She is devastated that they have died. She gave them so much time and effort, she is brilliant.”
Jessica Quinn
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.