Dog walker assaulted in Berea

WELL-KNOWN local dog walker, Wesley Chingwe, has urged residents to be tolerant, after he was recently physically assaulted in Problem Mkhize (Cowey) Road.

Speaking to Berea Mail, Wesley said he was walking two Beagles, Lucy and Linus, last Tuesday between 11am and noon in Problem Mkhize Road when Lucy got out of her harness and started walking ahead of him.

“I started calling her and trying to catch up with her and I was at the corner of Cowey and Haydn Roads when a car drove up to me and a man got out with pepper spray in his hand, and grabbed me violently by the belt,” said Wesley.

He said the man suspected him of stealing the dogs, and then tried to force him into his vehicle, a white Ford Ranger.

“I started screaming then, trying to explain that I walk dogs. By that time Lucy had gotten home and her owner called me. I told her that some guy thought I was stealing the dogs,” he said.

He said a woman then pulled up and told the man to stop and to leave Wesley alone, and the man got into his car and fled the scene.

“I know dogs are being stolen and people assume things when they see a black man walking beautiful dogs, but this is the first time this has happened to me. After being assaulted, I realised I could be killed,” he said.

Wesley said earlier in the year he had been walking local pitbull rescuer, Nicole Jack’s, two pitbulls, dressed in his green uniform.

A friend of hers had seen him walking the dogs and called her to say it looked like a ‘security guard’ had stolen dogs.

“When I got back to Nicole’s we went out to look for this security guard together, and I suddenly thought to ask what her friend had said the man had been wearing. When she said green, I realised she had been talking about me! We laughed about it then, but it hurts to know this kind of thing can happen when I am known in the community,” he said.

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Wesley said he feels the man could’ve approached him in a nice way to ask why he had the dogs.

“I was falsely accused and hurt on the neck by this man. I couldn’t identify the man but I saw blue writing and something about plumbing on his vehicle, and he was in his 40s or 50s. This is a matter to be spoken about, it doesn’t have to be this way,” he said.

Wesley, who is from Zimbabwe, and has been in Durban since 2013, has been walking dogs in the Glenwood, Umbilo, Glenmore and Musgrave area for the past three years.

Speaking about how he got started on this job, he said he had been doing art with men by Avonmore Spar when he heard of a woman, Shirley Shapes, who was looking for a young man to be a housekeeper.

“She had 10 dogs, and said she battled to find a domestic who wasn’t scared of them! As I was living in a terrible place in Mayville at the time, and this was a live-in position, I took the job,” he said.

Wesley said one of Shirley’s dogs, Lady, was killed on his watch, and this urged him to dedicate his life to dogs.

“I felt I owed it to Lady to learn how to stop dogs attacking each other, or people,” he said.

Wesley then went to stay in Edmonds Road with Shirley’s friend, Juliet Houghton, who, when he said he had the idea to start walking dogs, supported him and helped him to start.

“Juliet and Thelma thought it was a good idea, and I started by walking their three dogs, plus Gunther, a German Shepherd from the road. I built up the business and now, along with the help of two other full time walkers, have 30 dog clients.”

Vouching for his service, Nicole Jack said: “Wesley walks my two dogs between five and seven days a week. My dogs literally sit at the door waiting for him every morning, they adore him. I recommend him to every home I put a dog into in this area to help him grow his business. I’m grateful every day for the service he provides.”

Speaking about the attack, Heather Roos, chairperson of the Umbilo CPF, said she felt a cellphone could be a good or bad thing, as people are quick to snap a photo and falsely accuse people.

“This can get you into trouble. Sometimes things might look wrong, but don’t make assumptions before finding out the facts. From a CPF side we are very disturbed by this attack. Don’t assume things as innocent people, like Wesley, can get badly hurt. Yes, report things, but have your facts first,” she said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident in Cowey Road, or for those interested in having him walk their dogs, can contact Wesley on 079 634 9658.

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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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