“My husband loves dogs. We have had this dog for years now, but we feel it is not safe any more as we have children”
THE PIT bull that attacked a nine-year-old Galeshewe boy has been “given away” to a new owner.
The original owner of the dog confirmed this week that he gave the dog away after it attacked the child, who is still recovering in the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital.
The boy will have to undergo plastic surgery to repair the wounds sustained to his thigh during the attack.
The dog attacked the boy while he was playing in his yard after the owner’s child reportedly left the gate open.
At the time, shocked community members described how they battled to get the dog to loosen its grip on the boy.
After trying to distract the dog unsuccessfully, residents eventually resorted to stabbing the dog several times.
Calls were made for the “vicious” dog to be put down.
The incident is reported to have happened in the absence of the owner, who left the dogs at home with the children.
The family has since apologised to the community for the incident.
The owner’s wife said yesterday that they felt it was best to part with the dog following concerns that it could attack again.
She said they had owned the dog since it was a small puppy.
“My husband loves dogs. We have had this dog for years now, but we feel it is not safe any more as we have children.
“We will never know what triggered this incident or whether something like this might happen again.”
She added that the animal had been well looked after and they had taken it to the vet regularly and its vaccinations are up to date.
Meanwhile, the SPCA in Kimberley said that it could not comment on the dog, adding that its inspector had not yet seen the animal.
“We first have to see whether the dog is violent or not before a decision can be made on whether we should take the dog away from its owner. I have spoken to the owner who said he gave the dog away,” said Mario van der Westhuizen from the SPCA.
He added that in 98% of attacks, the incident was not the dog’s fault.
