Dog that 'savaged' garda's face during drug search to be put down
by Tom Tuite · BreakingNewsA judge has ordered that a gardener's Belgian Malinois dog be put down after it lunged over a gate and "savaged" a garda's face during a drug search in Dublin.
Adam Caulfield (27), of Primrose Grove, Darndale, pleaded not guilty to two counts of breaching the Control of Dogs Act on dates in 2025.
However, he was convicted on April 27 of one charge following a contested hearing before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court.
He fined Caulfield €1,000 and imposed a two-month sentence with the final month suspended.
The accused was released immediately after lodging bail, pending an appeal to be heard in September.
A further hearing took place on Thursday, after which the judge agreed to grant a destruction order for the dog and to order the accused to pay the prosecution's costs. He placed a 21-day stay on the order. Caulfield resisted the application and has 14 days to appeal.
Ruling on the issue, the judge noted the CCTV footage and evidence of the dog's demeanour during the incident, and its demeanour since being seized and sheltered by Dublin City Council, where it has to be kept isolated and "cannot be handled by humans".
Judge Hughes stressed that he had considered other measures, such as directing that the animal be kept under proper control through training, muzzles, and leashes. However, he had concluded that it was appropriate that it be destroyed.
During Caulfield's prosecution in April, Garda Gary Tuohy gave evidence that on June 28, 2025, he was part of a Coolock drug unit operation.
They had several people under observation and witnessed two males engaged in a drug transaction.
One was apprehended. The second suspect fled along the walls to Snowdrop Walk, to the rear of the accused man's home.
Garda Tuohy went to that address and stood outside the chest-high front gate, which had a "beware of the dog" sign, and he remained on the public footpath.
He spoke to the accused, who was in the front yard.
The court was told that Caulfield was not suspected of being involved in the earlier operation.
Judge Hughes heard that his unmuzzled dog was extremely aggressive, barking at the officer.
Caulfield held the dog but let go of it, and it jumped out of the gate and was able to bite the garda's face, causing injuries. He also suffered a broken finger as he tried to pull away from the animal.
A second garda also witnessed it, and CCTV captured the moment when the dog lunged and bit his colleague.
An elderly woman testified that on April 22 last year, she went to the defendant's residence to speak to his father about doing some work.
She said that when the door opened, Caulfield was standing there with four dogs, and "the big one attacked me". She claimed that "it had a hold of me", by the shoulders and that there were two other dogs on either side of Caulfield.
The woman stated that she fell and screamed for an ambulance. In the hospital, she received stitches to her two arms, and she also suffered injuries to the top of her leg and, as a result of slipping, was "bruised from head to toe".
Caulfield was acquitted of that incident following arguments by the defence that the incident occurred at the defendant's home, where the dogs live.
The defence expressed apologies for both incidents and argued that they should have been addressed in the Civil Courts to remedy the complaints.
The judge held he could convict for the dog attack on the garda, and he took into account Caulfield's "knowledge of the vicious propensity of his dog".
Gardaí and members of Dublin City Council's animal welfare section removed the dog last year. Caulfield has had to pay €7,000 in upkeep costs.
The court heard that the accused, who lived with his mother, had been affected by the bereavements of close family members and friends and that the dog was a source of comfort to him.
He had seven prior convictions for drug dealing and traffic offences and received a two-year suspended sentence in the Circuit Court in 2022.