The two-year-old suffered four puncture wounds in the attack and later died due to the severity of the injuries. Colleen Coetzee said the vets tried everything they could to save the dog but failed.
According to Coetzee, Onyx got out of her property when the gate failed to close and was pulled through the bars of her neighbour’s fence by the two dogs, which punctured the young dog’s lungs and esophagus. When Coetzee ran out to the grisly scene, she noticed the neighbour holding her dog aloft and handing it to her.
She now plans on laying a charge and has contacted the Metro Police over the incident. She says her family are ‘devastated and in a state of shock’.
“My daughter came to visit and I opened my gate to let her in, however when I tried to close the gate, it wouldn’t close. My granddaughter needed to go to the loo and in the ensuing panic, Onyx got out and we didn’t notice.
"After realising that he got out, we immediately began looking for him and it was only when I ventured outside the yard, I saw the neighbour holding him above his head.
“He pushed Onyx through the bars in his fence and it was only when I was walking back to the house that I noticed blood all over my shirt. I realised he had four puncture wounds, one to the top of his head, another just underneath his chin and two others to his lower body. We rushed him to Ashburne Vet and he was incubated but he died hours later,” she said.
Coetzee added that she believes her dog was pulled through the fence by the ridgebacks and is concerned a similar attack may occur to someone else’s pet or small child. She is currently awaiting the Metro Police, who she has contacted to lay the charge.
(Northglen News - April 1, 2016)
