Rescuers shocked to find three dogs shot and dumped at Coole

A deeply upsetting sight was discovered at a bog near Coole over the weekend: the bodies of three dogs that had each been shot in the head, were discovered dumped in a hole.

Two animal welfare managers from the charity My Lovely Horse Rescue went to the scene after receiving a report about the find, and there is no doubt in their mind but that the dogs were put down deliberately.

“There was a definite shot in the head, in each one, and so definitely, without a doubt, it wasn’t that they were shot by a farmer because of sheep worrying or something, because you wouldn’t be able to get them in the head so accurately,” says Martina Kenny, co-founder of My Lovely Horse.

The dogs were checked to see if they had chips that would identify who their owners were, but they had not been chipped.

“We offered to take their bodies because we felt, ‘God, we can’t leave them like that. That’s just so sad’,” says Martina, explaining that they would have paid for a vet to dispose of the bodies. However, another rescue organisation present took on responsibility for taking the animals.

From what the welfare team could make out, it appeared one of the dogs might be some type of lurcher and the others were, likely, terrier mixes. It wasn’t possible to say how old they were, but it is probable that they were young dogs, and it appeared they had been shot two or three days previously.

It’s not the first time that the bodies of dead dog or other animals have been found dumped in the bog, but Martina believes it is the first time that it appears the animals had been shot.

My Lovely Horse – despite the name – rescues all sorts of animals, and is caring for about 80 dogs, together with around 200 pigs and 70 goats.

“I understand that every single rescue and pound is full right now,” says Martina. But, she adds, if the person had contacted any pound and pleaded their case, someone would have helped. What happened was, she says, cruel.