WARNING: Contains graphic content
A Gatehouse cottage egg producer has been left distraught after rogue dogs killed half her flock.
Denise Brownlee kept four hens as pets to supply friends and neighbours with fresh laid eggs.
But, in a distressing incident, two spaniels got into her secured garden and savaged her birds.
The dogs “ripped to pieces” one chicken and, despite Denise’s care, another later died from its injuries.
Police carried out house to house inquires in a bid to trace the owners and prevent another attack.
But inquiries drew a blank – and now Denise is appealing for anyone with information to contact her.
She told the News: “I want to know who is at the bottom of this.
“Everybody thinks their dog is a nice wee pet. But these spaniels have come in and ripped my wee pets to pieces.
“It’s trying to get this through to people. You don’t know what your dogs are up to if they are not with you.
“I’m more angry than anything else.
“My hens were just tootling about in the garden – then it was carnage.”
Denise was alerted to the attack by one of the terrified chickens.
She said: “One suddenly appeared at the window acting quite strange.
“We looked out and here’s this black spaniel running about trying to catch the hens. By the time we got out it had pounced on Creamie and ripped her to pieces.
“A rusty-coloured spaniel had got Cappuccino the Rhode Island red.
“Another hen vanished in the commotion while I was trying to get the dogs off and save the rest.
“We found it later – somehow it had managed to get up on the roof.
“Cappuccino did not look too badly injured, but was really shaken up.
“I thought she had recovered, but she passed away on Friday.”
Denise added: “The hens are pets. I was fond of them the same way as folk are with their dogs.
“They came out of a research lab, so were used to being handled.
“They are comical – you couldn’t do a job in the garden without them being round your feet. The hens were just like puppies and constantly with you.
“Now I only have Whitey and Blacktail left. I’m really nervous – I let them out all the time before and they just wandered.
“Now if I’m out of the house I’m having to lock them by and it just feels wrong. The police think the owner could be a visitor or a holidaymaker.
“They have asked me to keep an eye out and inform them if I find out anything. If these dogs can attack my pets they can attack anything.”
Denise can be contacted at deniseabrownlee@googlemail.com.
“Enquiries have been carried out however the owner and the dogs have not been identified.”
