Grandmother rescues puppy from marauding baboon
"I saw Bruno had three bite marks. His heart was beating ten to the dozen."
Drama unfolded early on the morning of Wednesday November 16 in quiet, leafy Steiltes in Mbombela when the loud yelps of a terrified puppy caught his 68-year-old owner’s attention.
“The baboon came running from around the corner of the house and he had Bruno, our six-week-old Jack Russell, in his mouth. The puppy was yelping. I screamed at the baboon, which then dropped him and ran back around the corner. Bruno ran into the house, crying badly.”
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The brave grandmother, who wishes to remain anonymous, went inside and grabbed her sjambok. “When I went out, that baboon came racing around the corner again, so I hit the wall with the sjambok and frightened him off.
This time, he escaped the property by climbing a tree next to the wall.
“Then I noticed I had blood on my blouse and on examining Bruno, I saw he had three bite marks. His little heart was beating 10 to the dozen.”
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She took the terrified little beast to the Van Wijk Street Animal Hospital where Dr Christo Nortjé gave him three stitches and a course of antibiotics.
Nortjé said the puppy’s loose skin probably saved his life. Had he been older and the skin firmer, the bites could have pierced a vital organ and been fatal.
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The hospital said, “Please keep in mind that living in the Lowveld comes with baboons that are omnivorous, and hunting is in their nature. If the baboons are in your area, don’t let your animals roam about without supervision, because we share the area with wild animals.”
If you suspect your pet has been injured by a monkey or baboon, call the hospital on 082 441 7084 (after hours and emergency), or on 013 744 1836 (office hours).
