A devil dog has been destroyed weeks after it mauled a young boy in his own home, it has emerged.
The dog, which had to be knocked out by an expert on lions and tigers after the attack, was destroyed earlier this month.
It had been in the care of the Dublin City Council dog warden following the attack on a small child in the south of the city on June 5.
Read More: Dog’s 'eyes glazed over' as it tried to rip owner apart when she got home
It had been expected that a court would decide the dog’s fate later this month, but sources said the beast’s owner did not engage with authorities and it has now been put down.
A Garda spokeswoman told The Star yesterday: “I can confirm the dog in this matter was destroyed.”
The dog, which is believed to be a cross between a Pit Bull and a huge Presa Canario, was taken into the care of the dog warden following the attack in south Dublin.
The lion and tiger expert was called in to put the dog to sleep to facilitate it being brought to the dog pound after the incident.
The expert was called in by the Dublin City dog warden over fears that the was simply too large and dangerous to handle while it was awake.
Canario dogs can grow to 62cms in height and weigh 65 kgs, or a whopping 10 stone.
Gardai were called to a house in south Dublin when the child, who is aged around 10, was attacked by the dog.
It’s understood the dog and his owner, who is an uncle of the child, were visiting the house when the attack happened.
The child suffered serious injuries to his knee and had to be rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
Gardai and the dog’s owner then managed to lock the beast into a room in the house before officers managed to transport it to a Dublin Garda Station.
It was then put into a Garda van and driven to the Dublin City dog pound under the supervision of council dog warden staff.
But workers decided to call in the big cat expert, who runs his own business and provides a service to zoos, to make sure the beast could be transported safely to the pound.
Sources said that the big cat expert used a tranquiliser gun to knock the animal out and it was then carried unconscious into the pound.
The child was treated at Crumlin Children’s Hospital and is believed to be recovering well from his ordeal.
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