Crufts winner’s pitbull to be destroyed after park attack and €12,000 of kennel fees racked up for its care
A pitbull terrier which attacked another dog in a park and cost the State over €12,000 in kennel fees is to be disposed of, a judge has ruled.
Former Crufts Dog Show winner Michael Geoghegan (43) was unable to care for the dog and he had failed to identify another person to look after the animal, a court heard.
Geoghegan, of Ormond View, Swords, received a two-month sentence last month after he was found guilty of having a dog, a black pitbull, which was not securely muzzled or under effectual control at Swords Manor in Swords on August 1, 2024.
Geoghegan’s dog was seized by Fingal County Council’s dog warden after it attacked another woman’s dog, and has been in kennels ever since.
A garda told Swords District Court it was costing the State €680 a month to care for the dog, or over €12,000 since it was seized.
Geoghegan thought the dog had already been put down
Gardaí had brought an application under the Animal Health & Welfare Act 2013 seeking that the pitbull terrier be destroyed.
Last month, Judge Shalom Binchy adjourned the application to allow Geoghegan to canvass his parents to see if they could care for the dog.
Defence lawyer Annette Kealy said Geoghegan had not contacted his elderly parents, but was trying to find someone to look after it. The judge said he had been given four weeks, and it appeared nothing had been done, which was not acceptable.
State solicitor Mark Donnelly said it was the State’s application that the dog be destroyed.
Gardaí also said Geoghegan had not sought, at any stage, to have the dog returned to him. Ms Kealy said this was because Geoghegan thought the dog had already been put down.
Judge Binchy ordered that the dog be disposed of.