Grandmother tells how grandson (4) screamed in agony as vicious pit bull dragged him around street

Adele Kenny said the dog that carried out the attack on her grandson, Parker, on Monasterboice Road in Crumlin is still at large and she fears it will attack another child.

“The dog was dragging him all over the street. It’ll take him a long time to get over it. I’d say he’ll have that fear for the rest of his life,” Adele said.

Gardaí launched an investigation following the incident in October last year and later called to the home of the apparent owners to seize the animal – but the people in the house said the animal wasn’t there anymore.

Adele said that in recent days she saw the owners going back into their house with dog food and she now fears the vicious pit-bull could be back in the area.

She revealed how the dog – which she described as an American Bully – had been causing a nuisance in the locality last year, and in an earlier incident had “nicked” Parker and tried to attack others whom were walking by.

She said the dog, which had previously been allowed out in the garden, had been mostly kept indoors after the initial incident but ran out the front door when someone called to the owner’s house on October 10 last year.

“Parker was out on his pushbike and my partner went out to call him in for his dinner and he heard him screaming. When he looked up the road, he saw the dog was hanging out of the child’s shoulder. He called for me. He screamed ‘Adele, the dog has him’.”

She said her partner saw the dog hanging out of Parker’s arm and rushed over to his aid.

The owner and his friend who called to the house also ran over to help get the dog off Parker.

“Luckily, the young fella [the owner’s friend] was there to get the dog off him, because it could have been 10 times worse.

“The young fella [who owned the dog] kept saying he didn’t bite him but my partner was saying, ‘he did, I saw him hanging out of his arm’.”

Parker was distraught and Adele brought him back towards their own house.

“When the child was coming in, I noticed holes in his tracksuit top. I pulled off his top and saw bite injuries to his arm and back.

“There were teeth marks in his arm and on the back of him. I screamed when I took of his top.”

They rushed to hospital with Parker due to the seriousness of his injuries. He had bite and scratch marks over his shoulder, arm and back.

“In the hospital, the doctors said that he needed surgery because of one of the puncture holes on his arm. The wound was so deep, so he had surgery on his arm.”

Parker was kept in hospital overnight and Adele said on the same night she spoke to the owners of the dog.

“On the night of the attack I said ‘get rid of the dog’. They were saying, ‘don’t get it put down’ and I said, ‘well get rid of it out of the house’. It was going to attack again.

“Their attitude, basically, was ‘we’re not getting rid of it.

“Parker was released from the hospital the following day and that same day the dog got out of the house again.

“People were keeping their kids in over the dog and the owners were doing nothing. One of the neighbours said if they didn’t act, they were going to put up a picket on the garda station.”

She said gardaí subsequently called to the house with a dog warden but they told them that the dog wasn’t there and that they didn’t own it.

Gardaí have since sent a file to the DPP in relation to the attack.

While the dog appeared to have been gone from the house after the incident, Adele said that in recent weeks barking can be heard coming from inside the house and she saw the occupiers going in with dog food so she is now concerned the animal is back in the area.

She said gardaí are investigating whether the dog is back but have had difficulty getting an available dog warden needed to accompany them.

Adele admitted it is possible it is another dog in the house now because no-one has seen it.

The attack happened just weeks before another vicious pit-bull attack in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, which left nine-year-old Alejandro Mizsan with horrific facial injuries.

Adele said the attack on Parker could have been as serious had the dog not been dragged off him.

“Someone said to me, thank god it didn’t get his face. It got his shoulder and his back, which has healed. He has a scar on his arm and you can see still three marks on his arm. One was stitched up and others left. You can still see the mark from it.”

She said it has left Parker terrified of dogs.

He was four when it happened and turned five in December. He’s literally terrified.

“My brother brought him to the park in December and he rang me and said he’s in an awful state, he saw dogs and he’s after vomiting, saying ‘bring me home to my nanny’.”

She said now whenever he sees a dog, even if it is friendly, he gets afraid.

“When you’re going to school, you’d see a lot of dogs I’d always say that’s a nice doggy he won’t touch you, he’s with his mammy and daddy and on a lead. I’m trying to teach him that all dogs are not the same.”

She said he had nightmares over the attack and has rushed back home kicking at the door terrified after interacting with other dogs.

Adele said she hopes gardaí can track down the dog.

“The dog is over a year now. It would have been 9-11 months old when it attacked him. That dog is after tasting blood. Is it okay for that dog go get back out and attack another child?”