Michael Yiannakis, the owner of the pit bull who attacked a resident in Second Street in Orange Grove in December, said the incident was not only unfortunate but also that people have misconceptions regarding the breed.
According to Chester Longhow, the man who was attacked by Yiannakis’ dog, he was walking on the opposite side of the road when Yiannakis’ father, opened the garage gate and the pit bull rushed out of the premises and barked at Longhow.
Yiannakis said he was on holiday when the incident occurred.
“My father did do everything in his power to help the man. He took him to hospital with his own car and paid all the bills,” Yiannakis said.
Click here to read: WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Man attacked by a Pitbull in Orange Grove
“When I came home from my December holidays, I heard about the incident and I went and paid the doctors bill and everything that I could pay. It was one of those freak incidents. My dog is a family dog and lives inside our house, someone left the gate open and the dog sneaked out,” explained Yiannakis.
He also added that the dog has never attacked anyone before and he was surprised to hear about the incident. “American pit bulls are human-friendly, such incidents do not happen every day. I did not train my dog to bite.”
Yiannakis also dismissed claims by Longhow that there is still about R1 032 outstanding at Netcare Linksfield Hospital where Longhow was treated.
