A boy is due to undergo surgery after being attacked by a guard dog that escaped its owners' premises.
|||Cape Town -
A seven-year-old boy was due to undergo surgery in Red Cross Children’s Hospital on Tuesday after being attacked by a guard dog in Philippi over the weekend.
Zuandrie Mars was walking with his father when a boerboel escaped from the premises of Overland Tours, a transport business in Philippi. The boy was mauled and sustained injuries to his head, arms and leg.
Speaking from his son’s hospital bedside on Tuesday morning, Zuandrie’s father, Leon Mars, 42, said that he was extremely angry that the dog was allowed to escape the premises. He blamed a security guard at the premises for leaving a security gate ajar, which the dog ran through before attacking his son.
“He is very badly injured and is still traumatised from the attack. There are wounds all over his body,” said Mars. He added that his son was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Nazeem Dollie, owner of Overland Tours, agreed that the incident was a tragedy. However, he said it was important to understand why the dog had attacked so viciously.
“There are open plots adjacent to our property. Kids from the neighbourhood use these to play soccer on the weekend. But, they often come up to our wall and throw stones over - into the yard and on to the roof. This agitates the dogs extremely. The children also use sticks to prod the dogs through a mesh cover in the wall,” he said.
Dollie said that the dogs were usually calm and did not run from the gate, which was regularly opened to allow busses to pass through.
“On this day however, the dog saw an opportunity to escape when the security guard opened up to reprimand the kids,” Dollie said.
Mars said that his son had not taunted the dog. He also complained that, if the dog was really agitated, more care should have been taken to keep it inside.
Meanwhile, Dollie has offered to pay for all of Zuandrie’s medical expenses. His father, Enver Dollie, has been assisting with transporting Mars family members to and from the hospital.
“We have not yet decided on whether to put the dog down and will be meeting with the SPCA for advice on the matter this week,” Dollie said.
Red Cross Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Lauren O’Connor-May confirmed that Zuandrie was in a stable condition on Tuesday morning.
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
Cape Argus