Callous crooks target dog shelter

Callous thieves stole a substantial amount of dog food and vandalised Offaly Dog Shelter in Tullamore on Tuesday night.

A spokeswoman for Offaly Dog Shelter said it’s the third time in three years that the shelter has been burgled.

The thirteen dogs in the shelter at Cappincur, Tullamore, were left frightened and traumatised by the incident.

“They came in through the first kennel and they let out the five dogs that were in there,” the spokeswoman remarked.

She said the thieves went into an area where the dog food was kept and stole dog food, disinfectant and tools. “I was just after getting a delivery of 20 bags,” the spokeswoman explained. “They were the big bags, there was mother and puppy food and ordinary food and they took cans of dog food,” she added.

As well as stealing dog food and destroying bedding, the theives entered a back area and destroyed a roller door, which led on to a new area being developed at the shelter.

The spokeswoman couldn’t understand why the premises was targeted. “Three times in three years we are after being hit. It was broken into last October,” she remarked. On that occasion the burglars made off with €300 and a laptop. On the previous occasions, the burglars were disturbed while again stealing dog food.

She posted a notice on the Shelter’s Facebook page after the latest incident. The response was “absolutely brilliant,” she said. “Everybody wanted to donate,” the spokeswoman explained. “There was a lady this morning coming in with stuff,” she added.  The break in is being investigated by gardai in Tullamore.