Devastated Clondalkin woman curses cat-killing thugs whose dogs mauled kitty to death

A heartbroken Dublin woman has slammed a pair of cat-killing thugs after her beloved pet was mauled to death.

Christine Lennon was asleep in her home in Clondalkin on July 26 when she was awoken by the screams of a cat outside.

Her own kitty Boots was known to the locals and enjoyed his evening strolls around the Oakwood and Dunawley areas of the West Dublin suburb.

But upon hearing some male voices shouting and continued cat screaming, Christine sensed something was very wrong.

“I had fallen asleep on Monday night on the sofa,” Christine told Dublin Live.

“I was woken just after midnight by what I thought was cats fighting. There are lots of cats in the area.

“Then I heard voices so I ran out. Boots was in the neighbour’s garden two doors away.

“The neighbour had come out and was saying the poor cat was in a bad way. I ran into his garden not knowing for sure if it was my cat.”

On her way to the neighbour’s garden, Christine spotted two strange men standing outside.

“I ran past them and saw the dogs on top of my cat,” she said.

“I screamed at the dogs and started grabbing one.

“The two males grabbed the dogs and walked off.”

Boots suffered a number of horrific injuries..

His back legs were broken and his bladder was burst.

He had a perforated bowel, a collapsed lung, and kidney damage, all from the vicious attack.

“The vet said there was nothing they could do,” Christine said.

“So we put him to sleep.”

Boots’ tragic case, sadly, is not a unique one.

A glance at local groups, activists, and devastated pet owners on social media shows a reported trend of cats and smaller dogs being purposefully mangled by bigger dogs.

We reported one such case on July 11, when an innocent pup was found torn apart by terrified children in Tallaght.

” I had heard of a similar attack in Cherrywood two weeks ago,” Christine said.

“Exactly the same situation. Except the dogs took the cat. The neighbour witnessed it.

“I have since heard from others that this is also happening a lot in Ballyfermot. I am from there myself originally.

“There’s a group of them going around.”

But catching the people responsible won’t bring back Boots, who Christine adopted from the DSPCA in 2015.

She described him as the “sweetest cat I’ve ever known”, even saying that “non-cat people loved Boots”.

And, depressingly, she doesn’t expect her case to be the last one until laws are toughened up.

Dog fighting carries punishments including up to €250,000 fine and two years in prison, but most won’t receive a fine nearly as high.

“I adopted Boots from the DSPCA in 2015,” she said.

“He is the sweetest cat I’ve ever known. Even non-cat people loved Boots. He was so friendly and loving.

“He was an indoor and outdoor cat. He hated staying in at night. He would stay in all day but liked his freedom at night.

“I’m so angry this has happened and it will continue to happen.

“Even if they are caught they will only receive a €100 fine. The dogs would be taken and euthanised. Animal laws in this country are too lenient. I suspect these people who train dogs to kill other animals wouldn’t care if their dogs were euthanised.

“They would probably just buy another one to do the same thing.”

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