A SISTER of Limerick woman Nicole Morey, who was killed by her pet dogs, including an XL bully, last June, warned that a ban on the controversial breed, which was signed into law this Tuesday (October 1), would not prevent further deaths.
Jolene Morey, who appeared on RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon this week to discuss the painful loss of her sister, said that the XL bully breeds are not “not small little puppies, they’re not dogs that you could mess around with, they can just switch in two seconds”.
She describes her late sister Nicole’s pets as being like her “children”, “that’s how much she loved them, and obviously the dogs loved Nicole, but they just turned on her”.
Ms Morey said that while she and her family are somewhat comforted by the fact that Nicole’s death has sparked new legislation on banning XL bully dogs, there is a for stricter laws to protect people.
Nicole died in the fatal dog attack at her home in Fedamore on June 4 this year – her 23rd birthday.
The new law introduced this week will require owners to have a license and registered ownership papers, however Jolene Morey said her late sister “had all that done”.
Nicole arrived at her home at around 10.30pm following her birthday celebrations to feed her pitbull dogs Callie, Rico, CoCo, and XL bully Zeus.
Jolene said she had been “chatting away like normal” with her sister by phone only moments before the deadly attack.
Recalling the horrific night, Jolene said she rang her uncle to drive out to Nicole’s Fedamore home, but when he rang her back she “just knew from his voice that Nicole was gone”.
“I just heard him say ‘go to the hospital’. We got to the hospital, we were standing outside the A&E part where the ambulance comes in, and every ambulance that was coming in we were just running to them to see if Nicole was inside.
“(A) woman said Nicole was gone to the morgue and that’s when I blanked, and I just remember my mother screaming, crying. It was just horrible. It’s a horrible memory to have inside me.”
Armed Gardaí shot dead one of the dogs and restrained the three others, who were later destroyed by veterinary services.
Paying tribute to her late sister, Jolene Morey said “Nicole was a lovable person, the best big sister to all her brothers and sisters.”
“Every morning we’d wake up and the dogs would be downstairs. We’d literally dance with the dogs. I have videos of us dancing with the dogs … How you can go from trusting a dog, sleeping with a dog, loving a dog, for something to happen like that?”
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, signed the Control of Dogs (XL Bully) Regulations 2024 this Tuesday, introducing the ban on XL Bully type dogs in Ireland. A full ownership ban will take effect on February 1 next year.
Between now and February 1, XL bully owners can apply for a free Certificate of Exemption from their local authority to permit them to keep their dog until the end of its natural life.
The certificate will be provided subject to the dog being licensed, microchipped, and neutered.
Following engagement with animal welfare charities and shelters, existing XL Bully dogs already in facilities will be permitted to be rehomed or exported subject to strict criteria until next February.
