THE heartbroken owner of a Yorkshire terrier that was mauled to death by a pitbull in Limerick city centre last week says he was left “in a state of shock” after witnessing the attack.
Bill, who asked the Limerick Post not to publish his surname, was walking his eight-year-old terrier Judy on the corner of High Street and William Street last Monday at around 4pm when she was set upon by an pitbull that was unmuzzled and not wearing a lead.
Witnesses of the attack say that the dog was accompanied by two young men; one onlooker said that “adults and children were horrified and screaming for it to stop”.
“All I could hear was this fella saying ‘Pick up your dog’ but it was too late. The pitbull was on top of Judy and had her in the death lock. I wish he’d attacked me instead. I tried my best but there was no way he was going to let go. To see a dog killed like that is unbelievable.
“There were children there, and they witnessed it. It was an awful thing to witness. I was in a state of shock. I’m still trying to come to terms with it. I couldn’t sleep for two nights,” said Bill.
After Judy was finally freed from the pitbull’s jaws, Bill took her to City Vet, where she died as he placed her on the vet’s table.
“We had her since she was a pup. She was our baby. Everybody knew her in the neighbourhood; they loved her. She was well-mannered, she would play with anybody, never snapped at anybody. I always had her on the lead, especially in town,” Bill explained.
He concluded: “I don’t blame the pitbull; I blame the owner. It wasn’t the pitbull’s fault; he’s only trained to do that. There’s dogs being snatched all over Limerick to blood these dogs, and nothing being done about it.”
A spokesperson for Henry Street garda station said that the incident had not been reported to Gardaí.
