DONEGALDAILY.COM….FIRST WITH THE NEWS: EXCLUSIVE: A man castrated his neighbour’s dog after it tried to mate with his pedigree pooch.
Eddie Flood used a lamb ring to cut the testicles off the little cross terrier dog after claiming his three dogs were being pestered by the dog.
Flood, 43, of Carnasaull, Termon, Co Donegal, claimed the dog was allowed to roam freely and that he had been forced to remove it from his house more than 20 times.
After becoming ‘sick’ of the dog, he put a rubber lambing ring on it – the kind which is normally used to cut the tails off lambs.
Flood used a set of pliers to put on the ring and after a few days the dog was unwell and lethargic.
It was only then that it was noticed that the dog had lost its testicles.
The dog’s owner, Frank McGettigan told LetterkennyDistrict Court, that he was distraught when he discovered what had happened to his three year old pet dog Rusty.
He didn’t know who had done such a thing and mentioned it to Flood but he denied having anything to do with the attack.
Inspector for the ISPCA, Kevin McGinley, approached Flood on September 11th of 2009 and put it to him that he had placed the ring on the dog.
Flood’s solicitor Ms Sinead Bradley told the court that the lambing ring was a common procedure used on lambs which did cause some discomfort.
She said her client now admitted the offence but said his three dogs had been pestered by the little terrier.
Flood had a pedigree border collie which he was afraid for as the terrier dog was trying to interfere with it.
He claimed he had been forced to lock the dogs into a shed as the terrier had been constantly calling around to the house and trying to interfere with his dogs.
He also claimed he had to return the terrrier to its owner on numerous occasions.
Flood also claimed his three children had become frightened of the dog – a claim which the dog’s owner completely denied.
Ms Bradley said all the neighbours in the area were aware that Mr.McGettigan’s dog was a ‘nuiscance’.
But even after he was castrated it was revealed that Rusty the dog returned to Flood’s home and mate with Flood’s three dogs.
Mr.McGettigan told the court that he had been forced to give away the dog after the incident after spending more than €200 on vet fees for the injured animal.
He said he found the dog a new home because he was afraid for its safety.
Ms Bradley said she had been told by neighbours with female dogs that Rusty had been a pest and that no dog was safe from the attentions of the terrier.
Judge Seamus Hughes asked if wandering males aorund Termon were also safe from Mr Flood.
He fined the unemployed father of four a total of €730 – €230 for the vet bills and a further €500 compensation to be paid to Mr McGettigan for the loss of his dog.
He also adjourned the case until March 14th to see if the compensation has been paid to the injured party.
Speaking after the case, Inspector Kevin McGinley of the ISPCA said he was satsfied at the outcome of the case.
He also revealed that this is the THIRD such case in which a lambing ring has been used to castrate a dog because it had tried to mate with another dog.
“We are very pleased at the outcome of the case. Hopefully this will show people that they cannot take the law into their own hands.
“We would ask people whose dogs are being worried by other dogs to contact us and we will investigate each case,” he said.
