Jack Russell Kim saved from being put down ‘after months of uncertainty’

The Jack Russell’s life has been spared after she bit a woman in March of this year.

Owner Donal Rogers, an 85-year-old retired guard from Roscommon was granted a reprieve on the final order for destruction of his dog at the Circuit Court in Athlone earlier this week.

An order for the 6 year old Jack Russell to be put to sleep was issued after she bit a woman outside Donal’s home in Strokestown, Roscommon.

At the time, Donal said he immediately apologised when the husband of the woman who was nipped came to his door.  “I offered to take her to hospital,” Rogers said, “but she refused to travel with me.”

The woman was taken to hospital by a neighbour where she had her wounds treated and was sent home.

Soon afterwards, Donal was issued with a court summons, explaining that the woman had demanded for Kim to be put down.

Donal’s fight to save Kim’s life gained huge traction – a Change.org petition garnered over 176,000 signatures, while a GoFundMe page has separately raised more than €16,000.

Thankfully, on Tuesday of this week Judge Karen Fergus granted a stay on the destruction order for a couple of weeks to allow Donal time to put certain dog control measures in place, the Irish Mirror reports.

Measures include erecting a fence around Donal’s property, ensuring that Kim is microchipped and kept on a lead at all times when she is outside the property.

Donal was also ordered to pay €5,000 in compensation to the woman for her injuries and €1,500 towards her legal fees.

The former guard will have four weeks to put these measures into place, after which the judge will consider a more permanent stay in Kim’s destruction order.

Header image via gofundme

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