The Roscommon man is fighting to save his beloved pet Jack Russell, Kim, from being put down on foot of an order which was granted by Strokestown District Court, and upheld by Longford Circuit Court earlier this year.
Earlier today, he made a successful plea to the courts for more time to prepare an appeal in efforts to save the dog.
“To the readers of Gript, I want to say a million thanks for their interest and consideration for me and my dog,” he said.
“I want to thank them very much”.
The story, which was highlighted by Gript, has garnered a huge amount of attention and sympathy from the public. To date over 47,000 people have signed a petition begging for leniency for the dog, who Donal says has no previous history of causing injury, or other bad behaviour.
As a result of Gript Media’s coverage of the story, a solicitor and barrister have offered to represent Donal in hopes of bringing the case to a happier conclusion.
Gript Media approached the plaintiff in the case, a woman in her 60s, to ask for her side of the story however she declined to speak to us saying only: “I don’t want to engage”.
The woman claims that Kim bit her as she was walking by Donal’s house in a remote part of county Roscommon, and in previous court hearings has demanded that the five year-old dog be destroyed.