The mother of boy with autism has said she was “absolutely devastated” after finding out her son’s assistance dog, which the family raised over €6,000 to secure, was allegedly unfit for service.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) has hit out at the training methods used by Service Dogs Ireland and said it would not recommend the services of this company “to anyone”.

After spending thousands on assistance dogs for children, families say they were given inadequate animals and refused refunds, writes Kelly O’Brien