The sheep needed to be dispatched because of the accidents inflicted within the attack.
A crofter in Yell has instructed of a “horrendous” canine attack which left one in every of her sheep so badly injured she needed to put it down.
Ellie Sinclair has highlighted the traumatic encounter within the hope it’s going to remind canine homeowners to concentrate on the risks as lambing season approaches.
A boxer-Staffy cross, lately taken in by one in every of her neighbours as a rescue canine, obtained free on Friday and inflicted horrible accidents on two of her flock.
As the homeowners didn’t realise their pet had come into contact with any sheep they didn’t suppose to inform her what had occurred.
It was solely the next morning that Mrs Sinclair’s different neighbours alerted her to the injured animals.
One sheep had a bitten nostril, whereas the opposite was lacking an ear and had devastating accidents to the facet of its face.
“As soon as we saw it, we knew it was a dog attack,” Mrs Sinclair stated.
“It was horrendous.
“I previously worked at the abattoir and so I’ve killed sheep for a living but this was very different.
“When we killed an animal, it was done as humanely as possible and with minimal suffering, so to see a sheep in that level of pain and stress was horrible.”
The sheep with the lesser accidents has been handled with antibiotics and can hopefully make a full restoration, however the different needed to be put down.
Mrs Sinclair ensured she was the one to dispatch the injured animal.
“I wanted to make sure his last moments were of a gentle touch and soft kind words as he had already been through enough,” Mrs Sinclair stated.
The sheep that’s hoped to outlive had been bottle-fed by Mrs Sinclair as a caddy lamb.
“I put a huge amount of time and effort into raising him and keeping him well, he almost died on me when he was a lamb,” she stated.
“So to put all that work in so that he can have the best life possible and then to be attacked by a dog is hard to take.”
The 38-year-old crofter stated the homeowners had taken the matter critically, paid for her losses and have been coping with the canine.
She stated they tried to forestall any issues by conserving it on a lead, building a taller backyard fence and attempting to coach it.
“It was just an unfortunate incident and they are having as rough a time as we are,” she stated.
“I’m not pressing charges but I have requested the police log it as an incident as it’s really important these things are reported for statistical reasons.”
Her important message is for canine homeowners to make sure they inform the farmer at any time when their pet will get free amongst sheep – even when they don’t suppose any damage has been inflicted.
“If they had said something, we could have done a quick welfare check but by not saying anything that animal had to suffer for a whole day,” she added.
“Even if contact has not been made an animal can still become stressed.
“Pregnant ewes can abort lambs or have premature births that can limit the lambs’ chance of survival.
“So, if a dog gets among sheep, please let the farmer know because even if you don’t think any injury has been caused it’s still really important that they are checked on.
“Nobody thinks their dog will do something like this, until it does.”
Mrs Sinclair has been crofting in Herra, close to Mid Yell, since 2019 and her husband, Kevin’s household, have been there for generations.
It is fortunately the primary canine attack they’ve encountered, and hopefully the final.
“It could have been worse,” she stated.
“We were going to move our pregnant ewes into that field but hadn’t gotten around to it.
“Or heaven forbid it could have been our child.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson stated: “We received a report that a dog had attacked two sheep in the Yell area of Shetland around 7am on Saturday, 16th March, 2024.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
