Dog deliberately drowned in horrible act of cruelty

Paul Neilan

The deliberate drowning of a tiny pitbull pup at Castle Lake in Bailieborough has been called a “horrible act of cruelty” by a local councillor who then took it upon himself to bury the animal.
On Wednesday (November 26) Sinn Féin councillor Paddy McDonald said that he got a call from a member of the public out for a walk about the animal, dead in the water and tied to the stand near the Creamery Road entrance to the Castle Lake.
“When he investigated a little further, he saw that a pitbull pup had been tied to the stand and had a brick tied around its neck to keep it down.
“He said he initially only saw the paws floating on the surface, that it’s body was submerged and that it was only a pup,” Cllr McDonald told The Anglo-Celt.
'Use the pound’
The animal had been “picked at, tore up, by foxes” and Cllr McDonald later buried the animal in the woods.
“It’s hard to believe that, in this day and age, someone went to those lengths to commit a just disgraceful act of cruelty. There’s the pound in Crossdoney available for people who cannot keep their pets, or animals, and that specialise in finding people who can re-home dogs - it’s a very sad day when people are committing acts like that. 
“I would urge people to use the pound, and also when around Castle Lake be more vigilant about this kind of thing.”
He also urged the public to report acts of vandalism at Castle Lake to the gardaí.
“We have had a few incidents of destruction of property at what is a family amenity.”
Cllr McDonald went to the local vet to use the chip scanner to see if the pup had been chipped but to no avail.
Gardaí in Bailieborough say there is little that they can do in finding an owner without the chip but to report any acts of vandalism or destruction of property. Bailieborough Garda Station is on 042-966 5102.