A young schoolboy was left traumatised after witnessing their beloved dog being killed in a cruel hit-and-run in north Dublin.
Rory, 12, was out on a walk in Donaghmede Park with his 4-year-old Jack Russell, Apollo, just after 5pm on Wednesday.
Mum Sorcha Skelly told Dublin Live: "I got a call from Rory and he was inconsolable and crying.
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"What happened was Rory went to Donaghmede Park with Apollo and he let him off the lead so he could play with the other dogs. Apollo was having a great time running around with the other dogs.
"He was actually quite a nervous dog and he heard a motorbike. He’s petrified of motorbikes so he went to run home and Rory went after him, calling him but Apollo was too fast."
Poor Apollo was struck by a passing car on the road right in front of Rory and Sorcha said the incident has left her son traumatised.
The Clongriffin woman said: "Rory is devastated because he witnessed it all. He said he keeps hearing the bang when the car hit Apollo."
Sorcha has slammed the driver who drove off without stopping to check on Apollo: "They just drove off. They didn’t stop to see what they hit. They didn’t care."
A number of passerbys, including Dublin Live reporter Robbie Kane, rushed to help Apollo and Rory.
Robbie said: "I offered to bring him to the vet in Clongriffin which is just beside Grange Abbey. So I turned my car back around but lord behold, a vet had arrived and she tried to give him a heart massage too."
Sadly, Apollo had died from the impact of the crash, leaving behind his heartbroken family.
Robbie said: "I had my dog, Toby’s blanket at the back of my car so I brought it over. We wrapped the dog up in the blanket and handed it to Sorcha."
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