Dog bark home with his owner after horror theft
Pet snatched by thug armed with a hammer
A MAN has been reunited with his dog after a masked hammer-wielding thief stole the pet in broad daylight.
Denis Mccarthy was walking with his French bulldog Rocco when a car pulled up and the thug demanded the pooch.
Gardai are searching for the attacker who struck in Ballyvolane, Cork, on Sunday night.
Denis said: “We came to the top of the lane and a car drove past. It didn’t seem unusual.
“Then I saw it drive in the lane and I just thought they were turning around, but it stopped and a man got out in a high-vis vest.
“He had his hood up and was wearing a facemask. He came up and said, ‘Give me that f ***** g dog’ and he’d a hammer in his hand. After they left I tried to take a picture of the car and I realised they’d covered up the reg plate.
“The guards came down quickly and asked me if I was OK before they sped off looking for them.
“Then another Garda car came along about five minutes later and they stayed with me.
“I asked the guards if I could share it on social media and they told me to do it. I got 100s of messages and 24,000 shares and I can’t thank people enough for it.”
Rocco was returned on Sunday night by gardai but Denis isn’t certain how they got him back and no arrests have been made.
He told Neil Prendeville on REDFM: “They wouldn’t tell me how they got him back.”
A Garda spokesperson said: “At around 4.30pm a man was walking his dog when a car pulled up.
“A man exited the car, armed with what is believed to be a hammer, and threatened the man to hand over his dog. The dog was then taken and put in the car, which then left the area.
“The dog has since been recovered and returned to the owner.”