The Lonehill Residents Association has urged community members to abide by municipal bylaws and to always have their dogs on leashes in public parks.
This follows an incident whereby a Yorkshire terrier was brutally attacked and injured by a pitbull terrier in Lonehill Park on 11 June.
In a Facebook post, Julia Bickel said, “I clearly remember standing at the top of the hill and spotting a very beautiful pitbull and thinking to myself how it was such a nice change to see one running around off a lead in a public park.”
However, 30 seconds later, the pitbull went charging towards the Yorkshire terrier it had spotted seated with two young girls nearby.
“The pitbull sprinted over to it and within seconds had the Yorkie on its back, locked in its jaws and proceeded to violently shake it. The park was dead silent.”
Bickel added that the owner of the pitbull, who was accompanied by a very young daughter and wife, stood and watched, making no effort to intervene or step in, while the owner of the Yorkie stood there screaming at her dog’s limp body.
“The pitbull owner then picked up the poor baby’s body and handed it to her and I believe said something along the lines of ‘it’s alive for now, you better go to the vet’. The girl and her friend frantically left the park whilst the pitbull owner let his dog run free,” Bickel said.
Kelly Braum of the association confirmed that it was aware of the incident, “The association has on numerous occasions brought to the attention of residents of Lonehill, that the Lonehill Park is a dog-friendly park, however, as per the municipal bylaws, all dogs have to be leashed.
“Many residents in Lonehill, however, choose to simply ignore the municipal bylaws as set out by Johannesburg City Parks. We have published notices in our weekly e-newsletter and on our Facebook page pleading with residents to leash their dogs, however, the response received is mixed with many opposing having to leash their dogs while others agree that all dogs need to be leashed.”
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo have acknowledged and escalated the matter further.
Bickel confirmed that after calling nearby veterinarians, it was discovered that the Yorkishire terrier had died.
The post has since had mixed reactions from Facebook users and residents alike.
Fourways Review has not been able to make contact with both dog owners as yet.
