The Girt Dog of Ennerdale (also known as the Vampire Dog of Ennerdale or Demon Dog of Ennerdale) was a dog believed to have killed between 300 and 400 sheep in the fells of Cumberland, England, from May to September 1810. [1] [2]
The dog was first observed by Thornholme resident Mr Mossop on 10 May 1810, and began killing and eating local sheep shortly afterwards. [4] Its origins are uncertain, although it was speculated that the dog had escaped from "some gipsy troop." [4] The dog was a mongrel, [4] variously described as a "large, brindled, tiger-striped dog" [2] and "a smooth haired dog of a tawny mouse-colour, with dark streaks in tiger-fashion over its hide." [4] Some suggested it may have been a cross between a mastiff and a greyhound. [4] One witness, Will Rotherby, who was knocked down by the beast, described it as lion-like. [5]
The Girt Dog of Ennerdale would usually kill livestock at night. [4] At the height of its killing spree, it killed seven or eight sheep in a single night, [4] sometimes devouring its victims while they were still alive. [4] According to one account, the dog would drink the sheep's blood directly from the jugular vein. [4] Throughout its killing spree, the dog was "never known to utter a vocal sound". [4] Although local residents would often chase the Girt Dog with their own hounds, these pursuits always proved fruitless and the dog usually returned to killing sheep within a few days. [4] Residents tried to lure the Girt Dog within shooting distance using bitches in heat, but without success. [4] Poisoning, too, was also attempted, but abandoned to avoid accidentally poisoning the locals' own dogs. [4] As the Girt Dog continued to evade hunters, it became a popular topic of conversation in Ennerdale and Kinniside, and newspapers reported its movements. [4] The dog was nicknamed the "Worrying Dog of Ennerdale". [4]
Willy Jackson, a resident of Swinside, saw the Girt Dog 30 yards (27 m) away, urinating on a thistle, but his rifle shot missed. [4] John Russell, who owned a brewery in Whitehaven and a sheep farm in Ennerdale, offered a £10 reward for the dog's capture, dead or alive. [4] One morning in July 1810, 200 men and their hounds hunted Girt Dog over the Kinniside dells, but the day-long pursuit was unsuccessful. [4] On another occasion, a hunting party passed by the Ennerdale church during a Sunday morning service, leading many male churchgoers, and possibly even the Reverend Mr Ponsonby, to abandon the congregation and join the hunt. [4] Anthony Atkinson spotted the Girt Dog resting beside a grassy hedge; he struck it with three bullets but could not bring it down. [4]
On 12 September 1810, the dog was finally shot and killed by John Steel, a resident of Asby. [4] Its carcass weighed 8 imperial stones (51 kg). [4]
Following the dog's death, the mass sheep killings in the region stopped. [4] Until the late 1800s, the animal's taxidermied skin was on display in the Hutton's Museum at Keswick, Cumbria; it was discarded at some point due to the corpse beginning to rot. [2] [4]