Recent pit bull attacks
¡ Last Saturday 8-yearold Olebogeng Mosime was mauled to death by a pit bull. The dog jumped over the fence into a neighbouring property and attacked the child, who was playing alone in his yard in Vista Park near Bloemfontein. Olebogeng had fatal injuries to his neck and chest. The dog has since been put down.
¡ In September, Storm Nuke from Gqeberha was mauled to death by two of his family pit bulls. The 10-year-old from Gelvandale was attacked by the dogs. The victim, and two other children, were inside their home when the attack took place. The police were alerted to the incident, and on arrival, the officers shot both dogs inside the house.
¡ In May, 6-year-old Charmaine Munepya was mauled to death by a neighbour’s pit bull at the Marabastad informal settlement in Atteridgeville, Tshwane. Charmaine was playing a few metres from her home in a neighbour’s yard with her friends when the pit bull gained access through the fence. The dog grabbed and dragged her from the bedroom to the kitchen. She crawled and tried to hide behind the door. The girl suffered a painful, bloody death. ¡ In August a KZN family, including four children, were left traumatised after two pit bull dogs entered their property in Trenance Park near Verulam, where they attacked the family’s dogs. Two pit bulls attacked a German Shepherd while several residents unsuccessfully tried to separate the dogs. Reaction officers used a fire extinguisher to neutralise the situation. The German Shepherd was seriously injured. The family's second dog managed to escape by hiding under a vehicle.
¡ In June, a Gqeberha woman was hospitalised after putting her life on the line for a stranger when she threw herself on top of an 11-year-old girl who was being mauled by a pit bull in Gelvan Park. The 36-year-old risked life and limb to save Kaitlin Steyn from having more than just a piece of her ear ripped off during the savage attack.
¡ Also in June, 27-year-old Luke Hardwich from Nelson Mandela Bay was seriously injured after he was mauled on the arms and legs by a pack of five pit bulls in Sherwood while he sat on his motorbike outside his mother's house. The dogs also attacked two other people, who were hospitalised, shortly thereafter. ¡ In July Jaybee Cloete from Heidelberg was mauled by a mixed-breed pit bull belonging to one of the tenants on the smallholding where she lives with her husband, Patrick (63). The dog jumped and pushed her to the ground. While she tried to keep him from getting to her face and throat, it bit and chewed at her legs. Cloete had several surgeries to treat her injuries.