Woman attempts suicide after family harassed over dog’s death

A woman attempted suicide after her family endured days of death threats from netizens over her husband’s killing of a neighbor’s dog that bit their toddler, once again triggering public backlash toward extreme dog lovers.

Wang Yanyan (pseudonym) is recovering after she was found with her wrists slit on Friday in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The mother of two said the harassment had escalated to the point where her 15-year-old son had received death threats, according to Lingjuli, an official WeChat account under the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation.

The family was targeted in response to the June 18 incident involving her husband Tong Wei (pseudonym).

Tong said he was at the eatery with his wife when his two-year-old son began playing with a teddy bear dog, which had belonged to the daughter of the stall owner across the street.

He then heard his son crying and saw a bite mark on his hand. In a fit of rage, Tong grabbed the dog and flung it to the ground. He then tossed it in the middle of the road, leaving it for dead. He later admitted to having been drinking that day.

The story went viral online. A human flesh search revealed Tong’s phone number and the locations of his two restaurants. He has since received numerous death threats.

Despite Tong and the dog owner having reached an understanding, net users have called for a boycott of Tong’s restaurants.

The incident has sparked an uproar online. Some net users said that Tong’s behavior was brutal and it was his responsibility to prevent his child from being bitten in the first place, while many other netizens called for the extreme dog lovers to stop inciting internet violence.