Boy bitten by dogs at border post

A MALAWIAN boy travelling to South Africa via Zimbabwe was last week attacked and injured by two Rottweilers at Beitbridge Border Post while disembarking from a bus in the company of his mother.

The dogs were said to have been disoriented after chasing some burglars that had attempted to enter their owner’s house in the low-density houses, a few kilometres from the Limpopo River and ended straying into the border area after failing to find their way back home.

A source at the border said the boy, whose age is yet to be ascertained, incurred minor lacerations during the attack.

“He was rescued by specialised dog handlers from a security company, National Eye, and taken to hospital for treatment,” said the source.

The owner of the dogs, a local business man, Mr Hosea Muleya, said the criminals broke a gate at his house intending to steal and ran away when the dogs charged at them.

He described the incident as unfortunate, adding that he had taken the boy for treatment for minor injuries at a private clinic and was discharged.

“This is a very unfortunate incident,” said Mr Muleya. “We took the boy and his mother to a local private clinic for treatment on minor left shoulder lacerations. He has been discharged and they continued with their journey. The mother was satisfied with our assistance.

“According to one of our employees, some burglars broke the gate and entered the house and escaped when the dogs charged at them. We also suspect that the dogs chased them all the way to the river and got lost on their way home and found themselves in the border area.

“The attack could have been a result of panicking after seeing a lot of people around them at the border. However, veterinary officers are working on that aspect.”

District veterinary officer Dr Mike Nare said they were still conducting further investigations into the matter.

“We are still conducting investigations and checking on the dogs’ papers and related issues pending further action,” he said.