DUBLIN, Ireland: A Dublin judge has ordered that four XL Bully dogs be put down after one of them escaped from a garden and frightened police officers.

The dogs belonged to 54-year-old Veronica Maher, whose husband, Jason Hennessy Sr., was murdered in a restaurant on Christmas Eve, 2023. Maher said the dogs were her last link to her husband and begged the court to let her keep them.

The case was heard in Dublin District Court under the Control of Dogs Act. Gardaí asked the court to destroy the dogs: Oddie, Reggie, their mother Medusa, and another dog named Joe.

The judge, Anthony Halpin, heard that six gardaí were present at the scene on March 28. Four officers had to run away when Oddie, one of the dogs, got loose. The judge believed the officers were genuinely terrified and said the dog could have seriously injured or killed them.

Maher said she never let the dog out on purpose. She claimed Oddie jumped the front garden wall after an officer put his hand in. She insisted the dogs were like her children and that Oddie even slept in her bed.

The judge noted that Maher kept the dogs for protection and that they were not under proper control. One officer, Garda Sean McLoughlin, said Maher yelled at him and called gardaí "murderers." He said he feared the dog would attack him and claimed she opened the gate to let the dog out. He and other officers ran into nearby gardens to escape.

Maher denied setting the dog on the officers and said she brought Oddie back into the house. A witness, Kayleigh McEntee, said Maher never opened the gate and that the dogs were friendly, even around children.

However, other officers also told the judge they had to run from the dog. One said he feared for his life.

Photos of the dogs with children were shown in court, including one showing a baby surrounded by two large XL Bullies. Judge Halpin called the photo upsetting because it showed how dangerous the dogs could be.

The judge ruled that the dogs were not safe and ordered all four to be destroyed. However, Maher's lawyer was given two weeks to appeal the decision. The court has not yet decided who will pay the cost of keeping the dogs in the pound.