ISPCA warns on keeping large dogs

Dog owners who try and keep large breeds such as Rottweilers in confined places risk causing a repeat of the incident where a seven-year-old boy was savaged, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) has said.

Jordan Denn (7) was bitten on the head, ear, hip and legs by the dogs near his home in Edenderry, Co Offaly, on Saturday evening. He is recovering in Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore but will need his wounds dressed on a regular basis for the next couple of weeks because it is not possible to stitch a dog bite.

The dogs had escaped from the back garden of a neighbour.

ISPCA general manager Mark Beazley said it created a huge strain on large dogs such as Rottweilers and German Shepherds if they are confined to small gardens.

Jordan's mother Martina Denn said she did not believe that such dogs should be kept as pets. She told RTÉ's Morning Ireland: "I class these dogs as security dogs. They are too big. They can get up to 18 stone. What kind of family pet gets up to 18 stone? They can overpower an adult. A child doesn't have a hope in hell."