UPDATED: THE children who kicked a little dog to death had hunted it down after it was accidentally struck by a car, donegaldaily.com has learned.
The brutal attack, which happened in the Long Lane area of Letterkenny on Thursday evening, has caused a national outcry amongst the public and animal welfare groups.
Now the man who exposed the awful attack by three children aged between 5 and 11 has revealed an even more sinsiter twist to the horrific episode.
The man, who only called himself Paul for fear of a backlash, revealed how he now believes the little dog was hit by a car and injured before being kicked to death.
He revealed “I have been contacted since by a woman who said she saw the dog being hit by a car. That may be so but I know what I saw.
“The dog was still alive as far as I could see before these kids got their hands on it.
“I will never forget what I saw. They didn’t just give it a kick. They, all three of them, danced up and down on it in turns. I still feel sick thinking about it,” he said.
The man said the children also slapping eachother on the back after they killed the helpless animal.
“It was like they were congratulating ecahother on a job well done. It was sickening,” he said.
The man went to local Gardai but said he was not satisfied with the response he got.
He revealed he was not asked his name despite showing a picture of the dead animal and told by the Garda on duty that it would be looked into.
“I was there for all of two minutes and the Garda on duty just seemed totally disinterested. He didn’t even ask me my name,” claimed the man.
Sean McClafferty of Donegal Pet Rescue said that although the incident was sickening, he was not surprised by what had happened.
“We’re all horrified by this story. There is such a serious issue here but the incidents of children attacking animals are on the increase.
“But this is a particularly bad incident and a full investigation will be carried out into it,” he said.
Mr McClafferty said he will also be seeking a meeting with the Gardai in Letterkenny to clarify if the matter is being investigated.
“The Garda on call has a duty to log and report on all complaints made by the public. I will be seeking a meeting with the Superintendent in Letterkenny to check if this is the case,” he added.
The man who came across the brutal incident said this was not the first incident he came across involving the same youths.
“Not so long ago they attacked a funeral party with snowballs during the time of the bad snow.
“Anybody who lives on the Long Lane knows that there is a group of children who are out of control.
“How these kids can do this is beyond me. What we have to remember is that we must be asking what their parents are doing?
“They can only go by what their parents are teaching them. If we don’t remove them from that situation, they will turn out worse,” he said.
Colr Gerry McMonagle said he is worried that children who carried out the attack could go on to carry out even worse acts.
“I would really worry that if kids can dance up and down on a dog’s head and kick it to death, then they could go on and do even worse things.
“We all know that Long Lane has problems and the council is seeking ways of addressing those problems,” he said.
* Further details of the brutal attack will be updated on donegaldaily.com throughout the day.
Ends
