Это дали собак

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

I'm having trouble making sense of this sentence.

Here's the context:
Person 1: А откуда удочка у Мамы Свинки?
Person 2: Это дали собак.

I understand собак is the genitive plural of собака. I'm wondering if the reason it's in genitive form is to give the effect of "some", as in, "some dogs gave it". Am I close?

Comments

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

Interesting! But it's unlikely a calque. The little girl has no English whatsoever and only speaks Russian. If I'm being precise, she was hesitant between "Это" and "дали," as if she was trying to remember first. Maybe if she'd thought a moment before responding, she'd have used "её." Thank you for your input!