Dog owners are being advised to be extra weary.

Unfortunately, animal cruelty seems to be an epidemic in this country, with only more and more gruesome stories being shared of people mistreating dogs in particular. Reportedly, a dog has been poisoned in Dundrum, Co. Dublin following the discovery of rat poison in multiple chorizo sausages. According to The Irish Times, Lydia O'Byrne was calling her pet into the house when she noticed he was eating something peculiar. 5-year-old Freddie, a terrier cross King Charles dog emerged with a sausage in his mouth which Lydia discovered was filled with rat poison. After inspecting her garden, Lydia found three other sausages all filled with the same lethal substance. Lydia spoke of her shock at the realisation that someone was attempting to kill her dog:

"It was confusing and I initially thought it was some sort of mould. My fiance came out and recognised it was rat poison. "It was such a shock, I couldn’t understand who would do that and why they would try to kill our dog Freddie."

Lydia rushed Freddie to UCD's emergency vet hospital where the animal was treated for poisoning and luckily the dog survived.

do you think animal cruelty should become a criminal offence?

— Her.ie (@Herdotie) June 20, 2016

Gardaí in Dundrum are reportedly investigating the situation following the incident.

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