A WOMAN’S heroic act of shielding her sister and son from being attacked by dogs turned catastrophic when dogs viciously attacked her, ripping her skin off and leaving her brutally scarred.
Twenty-six-year-old Mabelein Odendaal was on her way home when three Rottweilers aggressively ripped off pieces of her skin on Thomas Holmstead Road in Rossburgh in the afternoon on Wednesday, 19 August.
“Mabelein was on her way home from fetching my other daughter from school when it happened. She told the kids to not run, hoping that the dogs would not give chase,” said Odendaal’s mother, Deidré Groenewald. Odendaal was bitten on the back of her legs, buttock area, arms and face and half of her nose was bitten off.
“I’m grateful that on that day she was accompanying the children because they walk home on their own sometimes. Looking at the damage those dogs did, I don’t think they would have survived,” she added. In a fit of rage, residents came out to voice their frustrations over the occurrence, blaming the owners of negligence.
According to the chairman of the Rossburgh Neighbourhood Watch, Gert Saunders, there had been similar incidents in the area involving the same dogs. “This is not the first time this happened. I spoke to a few residents and they said it has happened three times. They are all angry and want the owners to put these dogs down because it seems like they cannot keep them safely within their premises,” he said. “This poor woman will be scarred for life, something has to be done,” he added.
A resident who witnessed the attack described it as nothing short of ‘a gruesome thing to see’. “I heard screaming, but at first I thought it was just children playing, and then I heard it again. This time I thought to myself, ‘That doesn’t sound right,’ so I went outside to my porch to check,” said Theresa King.
She added that after the first two attacks, she has now become fearful of walking on the road and this has in turn has created a hostile environment in the neighbourhood.
Another resident, Nompumelelo Nala, said that she had reported the various incidents to authorities but nothing was done. “I witnessed a similar incident happen – a young man was a also fell victim to these dogs, and I was screaming from the top of my lungs. He was stripped down to just his underwear and his ear was ripped off. I reported the matter to the SPCA, but was referred to Metro Police, and nothing came of it,” she said.
The Queensburgh News visited the scene of the incident to find a stray dog feeding on the remains of Odendaal’s flesh on the road, which had been torn off in the attack.
A case was opened at the Bellair SAPS and remains under investigation. “We confirm that the incident happened. At this stage, we are still trying to locate the owner of the dogs as the victim said she did not know where they were from,” said corporate communications officer, W/O Derek Vijiam.
