A family who were robbed in Wicklow think the thieves beat their dogs as well. 

Last Friday, Gabrielle Kavanagh and her family met up for a meal to celebrate the birthday of Ms Kavanagh’s partner. 

Her parents left the family home in Arklow in separate cars, leaving no one in the house. CCTV suggests it was at this point that the thieves sensed an opportunity and decided to rob them. 

After the Kavanagh family returned from dinner, they quickly noticed something was wrong. 

“My nephew went in first to run upstairs to his room and he noticed my mum's room was completely trashed,” Ms Kavanagh told The Claire Byrne Show.  

“So, he shouted down to my Mum, ‘Nanny, your room's trashed.’

“And Mum's like, ‘What do you mean it's trashed? 

“He said, ‘Your wardrobe doors are open, there's stuff everywhere.’” 

'The dogs were beaten' 

It turned out the house was “completely trashed”, with those who robbed them having turned it upside down in the search for valuables. 

The Kavanagh family also fear they attacked their dogs as well. 

“I went out to the dogs that night and the mother dog would not come out of the pen at all,” Ms Kavanagh recalled. 

“I was like, ‘I think she's been hit’, because there was a metal pole that my Dad had against the wall that was thrown in the garden. 

“We've found out that the dogs were barking really loud… So, we reckon the dogs were beaten.” 

While they ransacked the Kavanagh home, the thieves found and pocketed a “large sum of money” that had been earmarked for a new car and a holiday. 

They also took a number of items of sentimental value. 

“They've taken all my Mum's jewellery,” Ms Kavanagh said. 

“They've left watches that wouldn't probably be worth as much as the jewellery, but they've taken all my Mum's rings, necklaces, bracelets, everything.” 

They also snatched a purse belonging to Ms Kavanagh’s grandmother that was of sentimental value. 

“My Mum's Mum passed away, I think it was about 11 years ago,” she said. 

“And my Mum had her purse in her top drawer ever since and she had like my Nanny's change in it and a €50 note.

“They left the change and they took the €50 note out of the purse.” 

Gardaí. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Ms Kavanagh added that she has never seen anyone so upset and her family now feel on edge in the home they have lived in for decades. 

“I can tell that they're scared, like my Mum doesn't feel at ease or my Dad in the house,” she said. 

Gardaí in Wicklow are investigating the burglary.

Main image: Gabrielle Kavanagh.