Revierre residents say their animals are being mauled to death by dogs

IT WAS JUST before midnight Monday, January 21, that Austin Mc Lean, more commonly known as Roy, turned in to bed after viewing a t/20 cricket match on television.

Less than one hour later, he was awakened by an urgent knock on his window by his neighbor who informed him that something was happening to his penned animals nearby.

Grabbing a flashlight, Roy, who resides in the village of Revierre that borders the community of Harmony Hall and overlooks Enhams, related that he hurriedly accompanied his cousin to the animal pen to see what the commotion was about.

The noise of agitated sheep and goats, and the exit of dogs through a bitten-out area to the back of the pen, led to the obvious conclusion that his animals were under attack from dogs. In the light of day, a sleepless Roy and his neighbours were able to properly assess the damage and confirm that three goats were dead and seven sheep had life-threatening bite marks to their necks.

One of the goats killed was to have been butchered this weekend — clients had been contacted; and that same night, one of the damaged mother sheep had given birth to two lambs — one of which did not survive.

“It hard, it really hard…that is me livelihood,” remarked a tearful Roy who explained, that he had chased the dogs which went to the premises of a resident about 700 yards on a nearby ridge.

Summoned by one of his neighbours, former Member of Parliament, Carlyle

Dougan QC turned up to hear and see the incident about which his canine security were being accused.

“I heard this morning that some animals down here were killed and they were my dogs…so I’ve just come down to see them, because this fella whom I’ve known a long time, said he chased the dogs up,” Dougan stated.

“I am prepared to accept what the fella says, and I’ll pay for them if that’s the case,” he added, even as he rejected the claim that the black dog which was among the pack of four, was indeed his, noting that the dog in question “was tied and it bawled all night” as a result.

The Tuesday morning attack was the third on small ruminants at Revierre in the past two months, and one of many experienced by owners in the village on a regular basis.

Roy said that last month, dogs also killed a mother goat that had two young kids which had to be bottle- fed, and his neighbor, Andy, lost 10 sheep over the course of one week in November, 2018.

Andy related that early last Sunday night, January 20, dogs attempted to get to the two surviving sheep from last November’s carnage which he now keeps in his unfinished downstairs. While he was able to fling his cutlass at the dogs, causing them to flee, thus saving the sheep, his mongrel pup, which sounded the alarm, was mauled to death and its entrails left exposed.

Dougan said he too has lost sheep and goats, killed by his own dogs which are no longer alive, but he also is aware that

“some real hungry, bad dogs” from Choppins, make their way into the community and have even taken up temporary residence in his yard when his sluts were in heat.

Residents in the area of Revierre have said the animal-attacking dogs are pedigree canines which they see from time to time walking, or being walked in the public road in the village.

How long therefore, might it be before a pedestrian comes under attack?