Dog attack 'isolated'

2007-10-24 08:45

Nerissa Govender

Pietermaritzburg - A four-year-old girl who was mauled by two Alsatian dogs at a house in Montgomery Drive, Athlone, on Tuesday morning was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

The child was the grandaughter of the homeowner's domestic, who had come with her to work for the first time. When the grandmother went out to hang up the washing, she left the door open and the dogs went inside and attacked the child in the lounge, where she was watching television.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said advanced life support paramedics arrived within minutes and were able to stabilise the child, who'd been bitten on the pelvis, legs and back. She was taken to Northdale Hospital in a stable condition.

Pietermaritzburg SPCA senior inspector Daniel Stewart told The Witness that police initially called them in to "control the dogs", saying that no one could gain access to the property because of the dogs. However, Stewart said this was not the case.

He said that when he arrived about 10 minutes after the call from police, "there were no problems or signs of aggression with the male dog". He found the female dog hiding in the garden. "I went into the bushes and sat with her. She was very scared," Stewart said.

Stewart said the grandmother had hit the dog to get it to stop biting her grandchild. The dog had a cut across her nose.

He said the grandmother and parents were "too traumatised" to speak to anyone about incident. Stewart it was possible that the child's screams worked the dogs into a "frenzy", causing them to attack.

He said that he was very sympathetic towards the child and her family, but the dogs do not have to be put down as this was an "isolated biting incident".

- The Witness