Pet owners must be vigilant after ‘barbaric’ attacks in Cork

Pet owners have been urged to be vigilant in the wake of a number of chemical attacks on dogs in Cork, described by an animal cruelty worker as “barbaric” behaviour.

Cobh Animal Rescue posted photographs to its Facebook page over the weekend showing how a dog in the area had suffered severe chemical burns.

It said the pet had a substance poured over it in the owner’s back garden.

Images also show a number of puncture wounds in the burned skin area.

The incident was aired yesterday on RedFM’s Neil Prendeville Show.

Previously, a listener had sent in photos of her dog who, she said, had suffered a similar attack in Ballincollig earlier this month.

The owner said she had been out at work at the time, when the pet was left with extreme burns across the top of its back.

This weekend, we posted pictures of horrific chemical dog attack in Cobh. Danielle says same thing happened her dog! pic.twitter.com/4hcjGPnC1M

— Neil Prendeville (@NeilRedFM) August 15, 2016

Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) manager Vincent Cashman described the Cobh attack as particularly barbaric.

He said the puncture marks suggested the pet had been held down while the the injuries were inflicted, possibly after the chemicals were thrown on him.

“If you’re stuck with a needle, you’re going to jump back. The dog should have jumped back after the first one,” he said.

“This is a complete and utter extreme case of cruelty, it’s completely barbaric,” Mr Cashman told the Neil Prendeville Show.

He suggested it could have been something like bleach which inflicted the burns on either dog, but only analysis of chemical swabs taken by a vet could confirm what was used.

Getting such tests done was vital, he said, if perpetrators are to be caught and successfully prosecuted for animal cruelty.

He said it is important, if anyone’s pet is the victim of such an attack, to get the gardaí involved immediately.

“Every Garda station in the country has a couple of people there who would be very sympathetic to cases like this and they would follow it through,” he said.