A man who castrated his neighbour’s dog after it tried to mate with his pedigree pooch has paid a total of €730 in compensation.
Eddie Flood from Termon used a lambing ring to cut the testicles off the dog after it pestered his own three dogs.
Unemployed Flood, 43, of Carnasaull, claimed cross-terrier Rusty 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 a previous sitting of Letterkenny District Court that he was distraught when he discovered what had happened to his dog.
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 1th of 2009 and put it to him that he had placed the ring on the dog.
Flood had a pedigree border collie which he was afraid for as the terrier dog was trying to interfere with.
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 terrier 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.
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 dog.
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 Denis McLoughlin directed the payment of compensation which Flood produced in court to the injured party and adjourned the case until April 11th.
Compensation of €500 went directly to the dog’s owner while a further €230 went to pay vet fees.
The maximum penalty for the charge under the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1911 is a prison sentence of six months and Flood can also be banned from keeping dogs for life.
Inspector McGinley revealed 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.
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