DUBLIN, Ireland - A judge has ordered the destruction of a man's two German shepherds after hearing that the unmuzzled and unleashed dogs "viciously" attacked a neighbor.

Fingal County Council charged Khalid Hamdy of Cedar View, Ridgewood, Swords under the Control of Dogs Act.

Hamdy told the Dublin District Court that his pets were not dangerous.

He also stated that they assisted him in coping with the post-traumatic stress disorder he had suffered since being imprisoned in Egypt in 2019 with 150 men in a cell where he witnessed the torture and the deaths of four people.

But neighbor Michael James O'Rourke told the court that on 13 November, he had just left his house to bring his two smaller dogs on a walk when Hamdy's German shepherds attacked them.

He told solicitor Michael Quinlan for the council that they were unmuzzled and unleashed.

O'Rourke said it lasted 20 to 30 seconds, but he did not suffer physical injuries.

However, he described it as a very traumatic event, adding that it was lucky there were no children in the vicinity.

O'Rourke stated that one of his dogs, Lucky, had its harness ripped and that his jeans were ripped before he could return inside.

Another couple testified in court that they witnessed it and claimed Hamdy's dogs had repeatedly entered their garden after a storm destroyed the fencing.

The court heard that after receiving complaints, garda discovered Hamdy's door was open, and no one came out for 20 minutes.

However, he did not see what happened and told garda that the dogs must have opened the front door to escape. Later, he claimed that his home had been broken into, causing the dogs to flee.

Hamdy stated that he reported it to garda after noticing damage to his door and items missing from his home.

He also denied the witnesses' claims that he had previously had problems with his dogs.

The dog warden apprehended them on the day of the incident and has kept them in a pound since.

Hamdy told the court that he had received training to deal with them and that there was no chance they would escape again.

Judge Anthony Halpin described the case as "very difficult." He said he would deal with it clinically, paying little attention to the interpersonal issue between Hamdy and his neighbor O'Rourke because it did not affect the actual matter before the court.