Ed’s comment: When man’s best friend turns bad

IN a crime-ridden South African context, however, dog ownership has an extra dimension.

Having to serve as a friend and protector of family and property, we lean more towards ‘brutish’ species capable of making short work of intruders.

It is understandable that Pitbulls, Rottweilers or Dobermans called Duke or Satan instill more confidence, from a security point of view, than little fluffy yappers named Fifi.

But this approach of aggression protection inevitably holds risks and responsibilities.

Last week’s incident, in which a 14-month-old Veldenvlei baby was savagely attacked by the family’s Pitbull Terrier, illustrates the point perfectly.

While we decided against publishing a photo of the child after the incident, a website visit on the subject- if you can stomach it – serves to graphically show the brutal aftermath of such attacks.

The other chilling aspect of the Richards Bay attack was that the dog was not a stray or neighbour’s dog jumping a fence, but the family’s own pet that, in the word’s of the baby’s father, ‘… has been the most obedient animal and never showed signs of aggression before.’ Tellingly, he also said ‘It was my biggest fear.’ Therein lies a message in itself.

While this incident, like so many before and those still to occur, obviously does not mean people must get rid of their animals since each case must be judged on its own merit relating to possible causes sparking the unexpected behaviour, it at least emphasises the fact that owners have an obligation to take responsibility to ensure all possible preventative measures are considered and acted upon.

This is especially important when little children are in the mix. To quote Richards Bay SPCA inspector Alicia Thurtell: ‘Absolutely never leave children unattended with dogs, regardless of whether the pet has never shown any aggressive tendencies.’

One shudders to think what the outcome would have been for the little Bay boy had his father not been present to intervene.