Dogs chew owner's manhood

A DOG is a man's best friend, so goes the saying. But not to two brothers who had to be hospitalised after their family dogs attacked them.

The brothers from Kumalo suburb in Bulawayo were attacked on separate occasions and one of them had to be hospitalised for over a fortnight after the canines bit him where it matters most - his manhood. The two boerboels were "put to sleep" by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) two weeks ago.

The two victims were admitted to a private ward at United Bulawayo Hospitals. The victim whose testicles were bitten was admitted for more than two weeks and also had nine stitches on his left arm. The other victim did not stay long at the hospital.

A source who refused to be named said the first victim whose manhood was bitten came home drunk at night when the attack occurred.

"This guy went home at night and he was drunk so when he opened the gate the dogs jumped at him and he beat the dogs and they then attacked him. The other guy was attacked a week later. He also came home at night and when he opened the gate and set his foot in the yard the two dogs pounced on him and he was bitten all over the body," he said.

Contacted for a comment, the victims' father, who identified himself as Mr Ndlovu, confirmed that his two sons were attacked by their dogs which at the time were still undergoing training at the Zimbabwe Republic Police's Ross Camp.

"My two sons were attacked by our dogs but on different days. We took them to UBH where they were admitted and now they are fine. Our dogs were nine months old and were still undergoing dog training at Ross Camp. I do not know why these dogs acted like this. We took the dogs to SPCA where I requested them to put them to sleep for my family's safety," he said.

In an interview with Sunday News, Dr Amele Dube from SPCA confirmed that two boerboel dogs were brought in by the victims' father who then requested them to be put to sleep.

"I can confirm that two dogs from Kumalo were brought in by the victims' father after attacking his children. The dogs were put to sleep following the father's request. When dogs start attacking family members they become very aggressive and this behaviour perpetuates and the dogs become very dangerous to both family members and members of the public. So in cases like these we usually advise people to let us put the dogs to sleep so that they can be safe," he said.

Dr Dube advised members of the public who have boerboels to maintain constant human contact with their dogs as they have a poor temperament.

"People should avoid aggressive dogs like boerboels, most of the people like keeping these kinds of dogs for security reasons but they do not know that these dogs have a poor temperament. Sometimes these dogs change their behaviour and become very aggressive to their owners.

"People who have boerboels should learn more about these kinds of dogs. They should also maintain constant human contact because in most cases people lock up their dogs so that they become aggressive but they should also interact with the dogs so that they get used to humans," he said.