Three children kick puppy to death

THREE children preyed on a young pup and kicked it to death in Co Donegal.

The children, aged between five and 11, kicked the dog across a road until it died in a grass verge.

The incident, which happened in Letterkenny on Thursday, has shocked locals. A man, who called himself Paul, witnessed the incident at about 6.30pm and said he was left in shock. He said he saw blood pouring out of the dog’s head after he came across the scene at Long Lane.

The man said he even saw the children slapping each other on the back after they killed the helpless animal.

“I saw them kicking something and jumping on it. I couldn’t tell what it was at first. But I was sickened to the pit of my stomach when I went over and saw the animal. I couldn’t believe it had actually happened. I saw them laughing and joking after it happened and patting each other on the back after they had killed the little dog. It was sickening,” he said.

The man went to gardaí who have confirmed they are investigating.

Sean McCafferty of Donegal Pet Rescue said that although the incident was sickening, he was not surprised by what had happened.

“We’re all horrified by this story. There is such a serious issue here but incidents of children attacking animals are on the increase.

“But this is a particularly bad incident and a full investigation will be carried out into it,” he said.

Mr McCafferty also said that there was worrying evidence that children who attack pets can go on to use violence against people.

“That’s the worrying part about all of this. If these children can do this to a little pup at such a young age, they could be capable of doing the same thing to adults in later life,” he said.

The man who came across the incident said this was not the first incident involving the same youths.

“Not so long ago they attacked a funeral party with snowballs during the time of the bad snow.

“Anybody who lives on the Long Lane knows that there is a group of children who are out of control.

“What we have to remember is that we must be asking what their parents are doing. They can only go by what their parents are teaching them. If we don’t remove them from that situation, they will turn out worse,” he said.

Local Councillor Gerry McMonagle (Sinn Féin) said something needs to be done to make sure nothing like this happens again.

“This was a horrific act of violence against a defenceless animal and we have to work together to make sure it never happens again,” he said.