Dog tears out kid's throat

2003-07-22 21:46

Tom de Wet

Welkom - A five-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a neighbour's dog.

Justin Wright ran to the gate to welcome his father Craig home on Monday afternoon. He was looking forward to a game of cricket with his dad.

But before the game could start, his father quickly wanted to work on the family's car. He suggested his son ride his bicycle in the meantime. He and Justin's mom Amelia started working on the car.

As the boy was passing the neighbour's house on his bicycle, their young boerboel and an older dog jumped over the fence - like they apparently often did when their owners were not home.

Witnesses said they saw the boerboel going straight for the boy's throat. Shocked family members said it looked as if the boy's "throat had been slit from ear to ear with a knife".

The owner of the dog, Vernon Monk, found Justin's body on the pavement as he was returning home, and called the boy's parents.

While the boy's bereaved mother sat with her son's body in her lap in the street, the dog, its muzzle and neck still covered in the boy's blood, again jumped over the fence and sniffed around her.

Police later shot the dog.

Monk did not want to comment on the tragedy. He said it was very traumatic for both him and his wife to find Justin's body. He had asked police to put down the dog.

- Volksblad