Man critical after pit bull attack in the city

May 21, 2008 News

Up to last evening, doctors were battling to save the life of a 30-year-old vagrant after he was mauled by three dogs said to be mixtures of the pit bull variety yesterday at Forshaw Street, Queenstown.
According to reports, the man, who is know as Rawle, sustained injuries to various parts of his body, including his head and hands. He was scalped during the attack and portions of his hands were ripped apart.
Reports state that the man was in an empty lot next door to the dogs’ owner’s Lot 268 Forshaw Street, Queenstown residence and had just finished picking mangoes when the dogs attacked, at around 14:30hours.

One neighbour said that he was home when he heard the dogs barking, but he thought nothing of it since that is a norm.

He added that he then heard someone screaming and realised that the person was being attacked, so he raced outside to see what was going on.
According to him, the dogs’ owner arrived shortly after, and he was able to get the animals to retreat from the man. He said that the owner then rushed the injured man to the hospital.

The neighbour also told this newspaper that the injured man was conscious and kept repeating that he was ‘just 30 years old.’

“He had bites on several parts of his body, but the one on his left arm was really deep,” he noted.
This newspaper understands that, after the attack, the man’s scalp was left in the grass below the tree along with the bag of mangoes that he had picked.

The neighbour also said that when he ventured outside he saw a hole in the dog owner’s fence. One view is that after hearing the noise Rawle was making while picking the mangoes, the dogs broke through the fence, leaving the hole.

According to the neighbour, the fence would normally be closed, but it is a very weak fence. He added that the dogs manage to get out of the yard at least once a week.

He also said that, just last Friday, the dogs were in the street and scared a lot of people. The animals have been a bit of a menace, the neighbour noted.

“The owner of those dogs is negligent…those dogs get out,” another neighbour said.
Up to late last evening, the injured man was in the operating theatre undergoing surgery to reattach his scalp. The owner of the dogs is said to be in custody at the Alberttown Police Station. Police sources say that charges are likely to be laid against the owner.
Meanwhile, a source said that Rawle was arrested about two weeks ago for stealing mangoes from someone’s yard, but he was subsequently released.