Dog mauls Gillitts man

A GILLITTS man was hospitalised for nearly a week after he was attacked by his son’s pitbull in his home on Easter Monday, 28 March.

Derek Tyler, the 58-year-old man who was attacked, said his son’s pitbull, Boy, had lived with them four months prior to the mauling. “He was well-disciplined, he would sit with us, put his head on our lap for scratches I think that is why this came as such a shock to us. He was such a lovely dog,” said Annette, Derek’s wife.

Both Derek and Annette noted that their eldest of two rottweilers, Bella, started showing behavioural changes when the pitbull joined their family. “She became domineering over the younger female rottweiler, Russia. She started to behave like a male dog,” said Tyler.

The first attack was on Saturday, 26 March when Bella attacked Russia. The family were able to separate the two dogs, but Russia was injured and was rushed to the vet for stitches. “The dogs are apart during the day when no one is home and in the evening, when the family is home, we allow them to mingle. When the first fight happened, the pitbull was close by and we are not sure whether Bella was trying to show dominance over the two dogs and to prove she was the alpha,” said Tyler. When Russia returned home from the vet, the two rottweilers were kept apart but the next day they were reunited and were believed to be comfortable in each others’ presence.

“Something triggered it again on the Monday,” said Tyler, who noted the family was preparing a braai when a second attack happened. According to Annette, there was a behaviour change in Bella and she quickly grabbed the dog by the collar. The collar snapped and Bella lunged at Russia. “It was the most frightening thing to see,” said Tyler. “The dog’s were fighting each other on a slope in the garden and I went to try separate them. I lost my footing and fell into a ditch,” he said. The pitbull was not involved in the fight between the two rottweilers, but moved to attack Derek as soon as he had fallen and was lying on the ground. “I was bitten on the back of my head and the side of my face, narrowly missing my eye. I was in such a position that I could not get up or push the dog off me. All I could do was to block him with my arms,” said Tyler.

Annette approached the dog from behind, grabbed Boy by the skin on his neck and pulled him close to her. Covered in blood, Derek made his way into the house. “It was the weirdest thing, but as soon as Derek stood up, Boy completely lost interest in him,” said Tyler.

Their neighbour alerted a security company, which, in turn, alerted the Kloof and Highway SPCA and emergency services to the property. “I was in surgery for almost three hours. The nurses said they counted about 100 wounds on both of my arms and about 30 on my left leg,” said Derek.

The pitbull, Boy, and the older rottweiler, Bella, were put down. “It was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make,” said Tyler.

Related Articles:
Boy (7) bitten by dog
Kloof couple bitten by dogs
GRAPHIC IMAGES: Dogs viciously bite woman