THERE has been a very happy ending to the story of the dogs snatched from a pet farm in Killarney in the early hours of last Saturday morning as they are all home safe and sound.
It is a particular relief that four three-week old shih tzu puppies, cruelly taken from their mother without having been weaned, are back in her care.
Gardaí raided a property outside Bandon in Co. Cork on Monday night and found the dogs concealed in two separate locations.
The animals included a 12-year-old Chihuahua and three pugs and all are now being well looked after at Kennedy’s Pet Farm on the main Killarney-Cork road.
A number of pheasants and some property that was also snatched by the culprits have not been found but the Kennedy family said it was always unlikely that the fowl would return.
Garda Superintendent Flor Murphy, of Killarney Garda Station, said no arrests have yet been made but they are following a definite line of inquiry.
He said the successful outcome was due to the impact of social media as immediate awareness of the situation had spread rapidly through that medium.
Gardaí in Killarney had contacted KillarneyToday.com early on Saturday to highlight the case and, in turn, the Killarney online newspaper passed the information on to the Maine Valley Post to share.
Incredibly, the resultant news report reached an extended audience of close on 65,000 people.
The Kennedy family has also praised gardaí for the manner in which they chased down the culprits which has ensured a very happy ending.
The raiders had pounced at Kennedy’s Pet Farm in the early hours of Saturday and the grim discovery was made by the farm owners when they went to feed the animals at 8am.
