Man mauled by dogs calls for awareness
Greg King is grateful that his granddaughter is not traumatised after they were attacked by dogs at a local public park.
Greg King took his granddaughter to play at a park when three dogs, out of the blue, came running towards them and started to attack on August 21.
His first instinct during the vicious attack was to make sure the dogs did not get to the three-year-old toddler. King suffered minor injuries but the pain of his wound gave him flashbacks and sleepless nights.
He recalled, “I look after my granddaughter I thought because it is getting warmer, it would be nice to go to the park where there is a playground with swings, roundabouts, and slides. I did not see what had happened to us coming at all.”
He said he tried to fight the dogs off but he was surrounded. “I tried kicking the one that was in front of me and as I was busy with it, the ones behind me started to bite me on the back of my thigh. I turned around and then the one that was in the front came back and bit me on the front of my leg.”
The owner of the dogs came rushing to his rescue and showed remorse. He also volunteered to cover the medical bills.
King was then taken to a medical facility in Pineslopes for treatment of his wounds.
“My wounds were cleaned and I was given some antibiotics and an injection. The bottom line here is that dogs in public parks must be on a leash. I have noticed that residents in Lonehill Park and Merrow Park often take their dogs off the leash and that is not safe. I got badly injured and fortunately, my grandchild was unharmed. She thought the dogs were just playing with me because she has a puppy at home.”
King is now taking matters into his own hands because he fears for the worst. He said more awareness campaigns about animal by-laws must be held for the benefit of the community.
“I am so grateful that the dogs did not maul my grandchild. You could imagine what they would have done to her fragile three-year-old skin. So we have to get a campaign out there for dog owners to realise that according to the by-laws, their dogs have to be on a leash in public places. Otherwise, we will have more incidents like this again.
“We have older citizens here who are 70 to 80 years old. They often come to the park voluntarily to clean it up. So you can imagine what could happen if a similar incident occurs while they are busy with their work for a good cause. I appeal to dog owners who go into public spaces with their dogs to put them on a leash.”
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