GUYANA -- An Ogle, East Coast Demerara man has described the pit bulls that mauled his wife as “loving” animals and believes that neighbors and police overreacted when they slaughtered all his dogs.
Rochelle Callender, 32, was bitten on the back, arms and limbs at around 07:00 hrs on Sunday after two of the dogs broke out from their wooden pens.
Neighbors, armed with cutlasses and sticks, as well as armed police ranks, slaughtered the two animals, along with about four others that were still penned.
Video footage seen by Kaieteur News showed civilians hacking and clobbering the howling animals. It also showed at least one police rank in plainclothes shooting into a pen.
While expressing gratitude to the neighbors who rescued his wife, the owner said he was upset that even the animals that did not participate in the attack were slaughtered. He said that he observed gunshot injuries on most of his dogs.
“I thank everybody (who was involved in the rescue), but what upset me is that the rest of the dogs were in the pen and the police shot them…the ones that attacked were also shot,” he alleged.
While he was not at home when the attack occurred, the man, who declined to be identified, said that the presence of a stray cat in his yard triggered the dogs’ frenzy.
One of the “fully mature” animals broke out of its pen and attempted to attack the cat. When Ms. Callender “hollered on him to go back in his pen,” the pit bull turned on her, the man said. Another animal then escaped and joined in the attack.
A neighbor said that he heard Ms. Callender’s screams and then saw the animals gnawing at her arms and legs as she lay on the ground.
“She was trying to escape but they were clinging to her feet,” he recalled.
The animals only released their victim after the neighbors and police intervened. The injured woman was treated at a private hospital and sent away.
Some neighbors accused the owner of failing to ensure that the animals were properly secured and claimed that the fence around the property was not high enough.
APOLOGIST
However, the owner alleged that the fence was over six feet high. In addition, he said the pens were constructed of greenheart. He was at a loss to say how the animals managed to escape.
“My children would be downstairs with them…they are loving dogs,” he said.
According to the man, he has been breeding pit bulls for about 15 years without any mishap.
He blamed the presence of stray cats in the neighbourhood for constantly enraging the dogs, which he kept chained at night.
The dog owner has since dismantled all the pens and does not plan to breed any other dogs.
(kaieteurnewsonline.com - November 26, 2013)
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