A 14-year-old Kimberley boy is recuperating in hospital after he was attacked by four pit bulls near his home.
A 14-YEAR-old Kimberley boy, Sibusiso Oliphant, is recuperating in Mediclinic Gariep after he was attacked by four pit bulls near his home in Utility.
According to Sibusiso’s father, Nico Oliphant, his son was playing in the street with a group of friends when a neighbour’s pit bulls “charged at them”.
“It was between 1pm and 1.30pm on Tuesday when my son and his friends were busy playing in our street. Our neighbours returned home and as they opened their gate, their pit bull dogs ran out of the gate and into the street. We stay about three houses away from the owners of the pit bulls,” Nico explained on Thursday.
“The dogs charged at the boys. When the children saw the dogs, they all ran off in different directions. The dogs then chased after them. One of the dogs chased one of my son’s friends and the others chased after my son.
“My son ran into a nearby veld but he tripped and fell as he was running. As he fell, the dogs then attacked him. The other dog, which was chasing his friend, also came to join the rest of the dogs who were busy attacking my son. My son managed to get a stone and he hit the dogs with it. The owner of the dogs came and called the dogs off.”
Nico said that one of the children ran to him and told him that his son had been attacked by dogs.
“I immediately rushed out of the house and they took me to him. I saw my son sitting on the ground and an elderly lady was busy helping him. The lady had some water that she used to rinse some of the blood off my son. When I got to my son, he was in total shock. He was unable to speak or to explain to me what had happened.”
He said they took his son to the hospital.
“I could see that he was bleeding but was not sure what injuries he sustained. We transported him to the hospital. We later saw that he was bitten on his right arm, right calf and left thigh. The Injuries to his calf are very deep. He had to get stitches for his injuries and is still in hospital recovering.”
Nico added that they have not received an apology or even an explanation from the owners of the dogs.
“We have not had an explanation or an apology from the neighbours after the incident. The owners have not come forward to even ask about my son’s condition or if they could assist in paying for his medical costs. My son has survived a traumatic incident, yet the owners of the dogs are acting as if nothing happened.”
Kimberley police spokesperson Sergeant Dikeledi Gopane said that they are investigating a case of failure to prevent animals from causing injury to a person.
“A charge of failure to prevent animals from causing injury was opened by the police. The police are investigating the matter. No arrests have been made,” said Gopane.
The SPCA in Kimberley said that a complaint regarding the incident was reported to the society.
