An 84-year-old retired garda has vowed to continue the legal battle to prevent his Jack Russell terrier from being put down, despite formally withdrawing an appeal from the High Court on Thursday.
Donal Rogers says he is “flabbergasted” at the outpouring of support from the public since the District Court ordered the destruction of his six-year-old pet, called Kim. On March 6th last the dog bit a woman as she passed his home while walking the Strokestown Famine Trail in Co Roscommon.
The ex-garda says he has been receiving cards addressed to Donal Rogers and Kim the dog.
“Yesterday I received a card purchased at Knock [shrine in Co Mayo] telling me that Kim and I would be included in Masses in Knock for the next I don’t know how long”, he said on Friday.
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Mr Rogers says people assumed following the withdrawal of the High Court appeal that he had given up, and that Kim would now be put down, but this was not the case.
He said when the appeal first came before the High Court on July 4th, it had been suggested that it wasn’t a suitable case for that court.
“The court indicated to me that there were other avenues to pursue and I am pursuing those avenues now.”
Despite losing an appeal at the Circuit Court last May, Mr Rogers who lives in Bumlin outside Strokestown, said he was taking legal advice and hoped to bring the case back to the Circuit Court.
“l’ll have a couple of experts with me on that date. The battle is far from over, not even half over. My supporters are fighting to keep Kim alive. I have wonderful support from all over the country.”
Medical treatment
And he also said he has learned that an online video of him with Kim has “gone international”.
Mr Rogers said he did not dispute the fact that the dog had “nipped” the woman but he said this was the only time Kim had bitten anyone and he did not believe the dog was dangerous.
Breid Greene of Cashel Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, recounted in court how she was bitten from behind and said she had required eight stitches as a result. She said that she received medical treatment for her injuries at hospitals in Cos Roscommon and Tipperary.
Mr Rogers said Kim had been asleep in the garden that day and the first he knew of the incident was when the injured party’s husband knocked on his door and said Kim had bitten his wife.
He said accepted that the dog had bitten the woman but he did not accept that Kim was a danger to the public.
“I am certain that she is not dangerous. Kim is a pet, she never bothered or injured anybody before or since.”
Asked if he was surprised that almost 165,000 people had signed an online petition to save Kim he replied: “I am flabbergasted. And sums of money have been pledged which can be spent on defending Kim.”
Mr Rogers said he did not expect his dog to be seized and put down before he gets a chance to make his case again in court. He added he has “no animosity” towards Ms Greene.
“I can assure you that my supporters will not allow the dog to be put down. That is all I can say. The dog cannot be seized from me and put down because she is not on the list of dangerous dogs.”
But he said he accepted that he was now in breach of a court order by not having the dog put to sleep.
“I have worries because they can come after me. I don’t know if I will be arrested but I would think it is possible. I have a Plan B if someone does come to arrest me. I am not going to tell you what that is.”
The retired garda said he has the dog, who is almost six years old, since she was three months old. Shortly after he got her “she was in a dreadful accident and she broke three legs”. He said he spent €1,500 getting the dog back to full health which took six months.
‘Pile of rosettes’
The Roscommon man said Kim had “a pile of rosettes” from local dog shows. He also has a collie called Oscar and he said the two dogs are so close they eat out of the same dish and are “like brother and sister”.
The matter was on Thursday briefly mentioned before the deputy master of the High Court Grainne O’Loughlin, a senior court official who deals with cases before they go before a High Court judge.
After Mr Rogers’s legal team indicated they were withdrawing the appeal, Ms Greene asked if this meant that the destruction order remained in place and if this was the end of legal proceedings regarding the case.
Ms O’Loughlin said she assumed the order did indeed remain in place, adding that while the case mentioned before her was at an end, any other potential legal actions were a matter for Mr Rogers.
