by Alan Jacques
A LIMERICK mother has called on the local authority and Environment Minister Alan Kelly to bring irresponsible owners of restricted dog breeds into line after a frightening confrontation with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier last week.
Janesboro woman Sarah Lee Kiely intervened in a dog attack after hearing a woman’s cries of distress. The young mother of two was on holiday when the incident occurred and quickly ran to assist a pet owner whose timid 11-year-old dog was being savaged by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier outside a post office.
She described the attack to the Limerick Post this week as “horrific and very upsetting”.
“The staff terrier was locked onto the ladies dog by the throat. She was being pulled along the ground trying to get her dog loose from its death grip,” Sarah Lee explained.
“I immediately ran out and started kicking the staff in the head. I found out afterwards that this was very dangerous as it could have turned on me. It did not let go and the lady was getting more distressed by the second.
The man in the post office just froze. My husband and my son came running up from the beach. I later learned that my son who is 10-years-old thought it was me being attacked,” she said.
Sarah Lee’s husband eventually managed to separate the two dogs after hitting the ferocious Staffordshire with a sweeping brush.
“Both dog owners had bloody elbows and were very distressed. The ladies were crying, I was crying, the child was crying. We had to get a chair for the lady who owned the injured dog. The animal needed lots of stitches and antibiotics. We went to visit them the following day to reassure our son that the dog and owner were okay.”
“We in Limerick know only too well what happens when people don’t or can’t control these dogs. Does a child have to die before something is done? Enforcement of these rules should be given immediate attention”, she said.
