A Limerick family is keeping a bedside vigil for their two-year- old son, who is in hospital after being attacked by the family dog.
Reece O’Leary was in a serious but stable condition at Cork University Hospital yesterday after the attack in the back yard of his home on Tuesday night.
According to eyewitnesses, the dog, a husky, ripped the boy’s clothes off and threw him into the air several times.
The boy’s mother Mags, his father Ernst and sister Rhiann (5) were at his bedside last night. Locals said they had never seen the dog behave violently before.
Neighbour Jonathan Curtin (21) has been hailed a hero by residents in Carew Park after he beat the dog off with a shovel.
“He was throwing the child up into the air, the child was like a rag doll to the dog,” Mr Curtin said.
“The woman [Reece’s mother] was holding on to the child and the dog was holding on to the child as well. The woman was trying to pull the child and the dog was pulling the child in the opposite way. I went in with the shovel and stopped it.”
Reece was transferred from hospital in Limerick to Cork at 8.30am yesterday. He was being treated for head, back, arm, knee and upper thigh injuries.
Gardaí contacted the Clare ISPCA dog warden Frank Coote. The dog had calmed down by the time he arrived. The dog was brought back to the Limerick dog pound yesterday where it was to be destroyed.