The dog has been removed from the yard and is now in the care of the SPCA pending the police investigation. Image for illustrative purposes: iStock
On June 26, 30-year-old Professor Juwaki survived a vicious dog attack near his small dwelling in Evander, Mpumalanga – one that will likely haunt him for the rest of his life, he told Ridge Times.
Being mauled was the last thing on his mind when the young father left his small dwelling in Kelvin Street which he shares with his wife and 18-month-old daughter, to go to the nearby shop.
He made it only halfway up the street when the animal stormed out of a yard with an open gate, bit into his hands and legs until he fell, and then went for his throat.
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When Juwaki, a contract worker from Zimbabwe, warded off the canine’s teeth from his neck, the dog pounced on his crotch and mauled his genitals.
Luckily, a group of men saw the attack and intervened.
They initially tried to push the dog away with the car, but to no avail. They then jumped out of the car, screamed and hurled stones at the dog, eventually scaring it off.
Juwaki said his saviours helped him into the car and rushed him to the Evander Hospital.
Professor Juwaki’s genitals were almost ripped off in a dog attack in Evander.
The same dog attacked a young woman within minutes after Juwaki was taken to hospital.
22-year-old Rethabile Marumo, who was visiting her parents in Kelvin Street for the holidays, was grabbed from behind, the dog’s teeth ripping into the flesh on her back.
“I had in earphones and was oblivious to the dog running up to me. The next thing I knew, was this pain and a dog trying to pull me down.”
Marumo fought off the animal with her fists, stones and “anything I could get my hands on”.
“At least my injuries are not as severe and are healing well,” she said as she pulled up the back of her T-shirt to reveal the scab-covered lesions on her skin.
Alice Rabson, wife of Juwaki, kept his torn, bloodied clothes.
Alice Rabson is keeping her husband’s torn, bloodied clothes.
“It is evidence. Just look at what my husband had to endure!”
The couple rent an outside room in Kelvin Street. Rabson was preparing dinner when her husband was attacked.
“I did not even hear him scream. The first time I heard about the incident was when the hospital contacted me.”
According to Rabson, the doctor in the emergency room was efficient and explained to her that Juwaki urgently needed an operation.
“He said the damage to my husband’s genitals was extensive, but he was unable to tell us if it would be permanent.”
Juwaki might soon be transferred to another hospital. The dog, which has the appearance of a pit bull, was kept in the yard of a government employee, who allegedly denies being its owner.
The SPCA confiscated this dog after it attacked pedestrians in Evander last month.
“We saw her son regularly walking the dog. The dog lived in their yard. How can it not be their dog?” Rabson and Marumo asked in unison.
“It upsets us even more that no who lives there has even asked us how Professor is doing.”
Maruma said her parents tried to speak to the homeowner, but were chased away.
The homeowner could not be reached at the time of publication.
Rumours that the dog also bit another man and two children that day could not be confirmed.
The dog has been removed from the yard and is now in the care of the SPCA pending the police investigation.
Nick Strydom, chairperson of the SPCA, said the animal appeared agitated from a heavy tight-fitting chain around its neck when it arrived at the SPCA.
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