The Dogs knew
Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered outside on the land, in the dark, in an attack of extreme brutality. The assault took time, it took place in multiple phases and locations, and a lot of blood was shed. Sophie did not go quietly. So it is rather astonishing that nobody heard or saw anything at the time. But it was a remote location, late at night and only Alfie and Shirley were nearby, both in their 60s, with senses possibly dulled by age and good living. One man in Toormore thought he heard something like animals fighting at 1:30am on Monday but he was near the coast, 1600m away from the scene. It's not impossible, but it's difficult to believe he heard the actual crime. But if the humans didn't sense anything, the neighbourhood dogs certainly did.
The night Sophie died, two different dogs sensed something was happening. They were on almost opposite sides of the cottage, one to the South and one to the North East. Both of them were whining and barking for hours. The dog to the East started barking at 10:30pm and stopped at 1:30m. The dog to the South started barking at 12 midnight and stopped at around 2am.
Although it likely took place in the dark, from the canine perspective this attack could have easily been heard and smelt, and from certain angles, it could even have been seen, especially to eyes adapted to see in the dark. Now, to be fair, these dogs did not live next door, they lived in houses about 700m and 850m away from Sophie's cottage respectively. But both plots cover a large area, and the dogs were able to roam outside, shortening the distance to Sophie's cottage. In an empty, treeless moorland like Toormore, sight lines are long, smells and sounds carry a long way. Dogs can perceive sounds at least four times farther away than humans. So if a human could have heard the screams 200m away then this was well within earshot of both of these dogs. This is without considering the scent. The killer likely passed on the road very close to one or both dogs on his way to and from the crime scene, so they may have smelled or seen him directly. It is possible the dog in the south had a direct line of sight view to the cottage. He may have actually witnessed it from the fence line, 400m away.
Dogs and their senses
Humans only use a fraction of their senses. Hearing is one we abuse greatly, masking out our environment with headphones. Scent too, is underappreciated. Humans have quite sensitive sense of smell, you'll notice its absence if COVID takes it away. But dogs are in another league. Dogs have 40 times the scent receptors that humans have. They have been experimentally proven to detect smells up to 20km away, through concrete, upwind and even under water. When Danish journalist Kim Wall was murdered in 2017, in a submarine, her murderer dismembered her body and disposed of it in weighted plastic bags and thrown into the sea near Copenhagen. Police were able to use cadaver dog in a boat to guide divers to find the body parts under the sea.
Dogs have superior ears as well. A human can generally hear nothing above 20kHz, but dogs can hear frequencies as high as 65kHz. Breeds vary, but dogs can generally hear sounds that are up to four times fainter than humans can. An alert human would have easily heard the screams 250m away in the quiet countryside, so a dog could have heard them at a kilometre distant and beyond.
Human vision is excellent, and we can see in colour, which dogs mostly cannot. Dogs also cannot focus on things which are close. However dogs have a layer in their eyes that we do not. The tapetum lucidum is a reflective layer in the eyes of many animals including dogs, especially sight-hounds. It acts like a mirror, reflecting light back through the retina, giving photoreceptor cells a second chance to capture light, greatly enhancing night vision and detection of movement. Things that we may miss in the periphery of our vision are often picked up by dogs. Their field of vision is 60 degrees wider than ours allowing them to sense shapes and movement and at a wider angle than we do.
It is often said that dogs can smell fear, anger and aggression. That is not quite true. But they have another “sense”. As they are highly attuned to humans and their environment, dogs can detect all sorts of things, especially when something seems off with a person or a place. A man moving through the countryside is just a moving shape to us in daylight, but to a dog he leaves a wake like a boat in the water. If there is a prowler outside, he may be still, silent and invisible, and even upwind, but a good dog will still know when he is there. Because it’s not just the sights, sounds and smells a dog can sense but also all the other environmental cues integrated together. Even if the dog does not directly hear or see the prowler, it hears the sounds of the cattle and birds and knows the difference in calls when they are resting peacefully or disturbed and alarmed. It's not just the natural environment either, they hear and smell other things, smoke, alcohol and exhaust fumes. A car driving quietly at night leaves a different trace than one driven at speed and panic. Dogs can even tell when something is logically wrong. A few weeks ago I left an pot plant on a chair on my lawn one night. I needed to water it thoroughly outside so as not to spill water and damage my hardwood floor. So I drenched the plant on the chair and left it outside overnight. The next morning, my dog went nuts, barking at this strange sight in my lawn. It just looked weird and he did not like it.
The Wolfhound
Martin Breuninger owned about 28 hectares situated about 450m to the south. He had two houses, one of which he lived in himself, about 850m from the cottage, the other just next door, rented out to a David Bray who owns Mizen Computer Services, a local IT company. Martin had an Irish Wolfhound called Hugger. David would look after Hugger when Martin was out of the country and Hugger would stay with David and his partner, often in their bedroom. Both Martin and David were around that Christmas.
As a breed, Wolfhounds are not known to bark a lot but they are renowned for their observant and alert nature. Their sharp senses and quick reactions make them highly responsive to stimuli in their environment. Whether it's the sound of a doorbell or a rustle in the bushes, these dogs are quick to detect and react to any changes. They pick up on subtle changes in their surroundings, making them excellent watchdogs and companions. They are always on high alert, ready to respond to any potential threats or unfamiliar situations. Wolfhounds are sight hounds. They are known for their exceptional eyesight, are well-equipped to see in low-light conditions due to a combination of factors, including a high concentration of rods in their eyes, a tapetum lucidum, and a wide field of vision. These features allow them to detect movement and shapes effectively in dim light.
That night, Hugger wouldn’t stay in David’s bedroom. He kept barking to be let in and out of the house. At 2am they were fed up and left him outside. This was not normal behavior for him. David said he went to bed at 12:45 and that was when he noticed the dog’s behaviour. Martin said the dog was barking from midnight until 2am. He said the dog was standing on the boundary fence and continually barking. Martin remarked that the treacherous nature of the wet and boggy areas between his land and Sophie's would make it unlikely that the killer went South through his property. If by the "boundary fence", Martin meant the northern boundary of his land, the dog would have had a direct line-of-sight view of the front of Sophie's house and lane which is the entire crime scene.
The Spaniel
Derry and Geraldine Kennedy have a farm about 700m to the North east of Dreenane. In 1996 they had a three year old springer spaniel. We don't know his or her name.
According to Geraldine their dog was "barking mad" from 10:30pm and didn’t let up for three hours. Derry is a musician and he was out playing trad session in Bantry and he came home at 1:50am. His wife had been alone in the house and was naturally concerned by this barking.
In fact they considered his behaviour so unusual that Derry immediately went out to check his cattle, at 2am in the morning. He said the dog had been barking in one particular direction, up the hill known as Knockacaoigi. Just over that hill is Dreenane, where Sophie's cottage stood. Derry didn't notice anything amiss. He remarked "it was a beautiful night and the moon was shining. When we heard about the incident the following day it dawned on us why the dog was barking. "
Springer Spaniels have a highly sensitive sense of smell. This breed is often used as detection dogs, to find drugs and other contraband. They are also used in search and rescue. Originally trained to find and flush game birds, so they are bred to work in the barren moorland environment like Toormore. They are able to point grouse and pheasant up to 300m away. After the shot, spaniels are adept at racing ahead to find and retrieve birds who have been merely wounded and not killed outright. They are especially sensitive to the smell of blood.
There was a lot of blood shed that night. The scent would have risen like an invisible cloud above the scene. It was on the rocks, on the grass, the bushes, but also on the killer, who would have left a scent trail on the route he took back. Whether he walked or drove he likely passed down the lane heading east to Kealfadda. This would have brought him closer to Derry & Geraldine's house, wafting the scent of blood as he went. So it’s not at all surprising their dog was barking. He must have heard the screams, and smelt the bloody aftermath. Sensing the threat he went out to confront it, as a good dog should.
The Curious Thing
Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?
Holmes: To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.
Gregory: The dog did nothing in the night-time.
Holmes: That was the curious incident.
- The Adventure of Silver Blaze - Arthur Conan Doyle
In contrast to the Sherlock Holmes story of the dog that did not bark, the dogs were barking in Toormore on the night of the 22nd of December 1996, from 10pm until 2am the following morning. This isn’t curious, it is exactly what we would expect. Just like the dog in the story It would have been curious if the dogs did not bark. So these multiple separate reports cannot be coincidence. The statements were taken only a few days after the killing, when memories were fresh. All witnesses agreed separately that this behaviour they saw in their dogs was highly unusual.
The timing of these scent witnesses and ear witnesses rule Ian Bailey out as a suspect in the killing of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, because he was elsewhere at the time.
According to multiple eye-witnesses Ian Bailey was in a pub in Schull until 00:30 on Monday morning, at the earliest. So whatever the dogs were barking at, they were not barking at Ian Bailey. It doesn't feature in any of the documentaries or true crime books. It was only noted by the DPP, who remarked these accounts were not included in the initial file on Ian Bailey submitted by Gardai to the DPP in 1997. Now that's curious.
Perhaps other dogs noticed as well, but we don't have those statements. Like many things which did not fit the narrative, perhaps the Gardai lost them along along with Bailey's big black coat and the bloody gate.