Elderly woman critically injured in pit bull attack in Wentworth

An elderly woman from Wentworth, Durban, is in hospital after she was attacked by two pit bulls while walking home.

Delyse Augustine, in her eighties, is currently undergoing scans on her legs and head to determine the extent of her injuries and whether there is lasting damage.

The dogs bit her and other people who had tried to stop the attack in an incident late last week.

Her daughter, Bronwyn Samuels, recounted the ordeal, explaining that her mother had gone to the shops and the pharmacy to collect her medication.

On her way back, as she was crossing the road, the dogs were barking, and at that time, they were inside their yard. She continued to walk along when the two dogs got loose from the yard and attacked her from behind.

Samuels said they bit her mother on the legs, and she has a significant gash on her head where they also bit her. Two other people came to try and assist her and the dogs bit them too, but Samuels said she believed that if the others did not intervene, her mother would have been killed.

Samuels said her mother is now in hospital waiting to get scans on her head and legs and will be attended to by a plastic surgeon to assess the damage that occurred.

She said she made contact with the dogs’ owner and expressed concern that the dogs might not be vaccinated.

“When I told the female owner of the dogs about what her dogs had done, she said she was at work and knew nothing about the attack. I asked her if the dogs had been vaccinated; she said one of the dogs was vaccinated when they were little. That tells me that the dogs have not been vaccinated, as dogs need to be vaccinated every year.”

One of the people who jumped in to try and stop the attack told of the injuries he suffered.

“It took three people to try and stop that attack. They bit me (on) the arm, the hand, and the leg. I am in the hospital to get more injections. On Friday, I received two injections, and today, I am getting another four injections; some ofthese injections (are) to prevent rabies infection.”

Another resident in the area said they want the dogs removed from the area. The Mercury has seen several messages, shared by Samuels, from residents who are upset by the attack.

One message said, “Everyone is angry and wants these dogs gone, like now. People are walking with knives and planks for protection.”

DA MP Shontel De Boer said community members had reported the incident to her.

“They say the dogs are a serious menace, and people are afraid to walk outside. They have to keep their children locked in the yard, and when they go out to collect their washing, they carry a knife just in case they run into the dogs.”

The SAPS confirmed that the police in Wentworth have registered a case of failure to prevent an animal from causing injury, following an incident in which an elderly woman was allegedly bitten by a dog on October

THE MERCURY