According to Mr André Snyman, he was on his usual morning cycle before work when the incident happened in Keurboom Lane opposite Olyf Gym at around 07:30 on Thursday, 17 February. “I had just come around the corner when I saw the dogs in front of me. I usually turn right there, but before I could do so, they were on top of me,” Snyman says. One of the two large Boerboels grabbed hold of the front of his lower left leg. The other also bit him on the same leg. One of the dogs shook him until he fell off his bicycle. Snyman had to fight them off for them to back off. Luckily, he could use his bicycle to shield himself from the vicious animals. “One of them tried to come around my bicycle while I was lying on the ground. I do not know where I got the strength, but I managed to hit him and he backed off,” says Snyman. Luckily, people at the gym saw what had happened and ran to help him and chased the dogs away. “They told me that, just before I had come around the corner, the same dogs also chased two women and an elderly man. One woman told me she never wants to experi-ence such a sight again,” he says. A woman, believed to be the dogs’ owner, also came walking to the scene. The dogs followed her into her yard and she closed the gate. Snyman managed to call his wife for help. Members of CPI Security and the police soon also arrived at the scene. Snyman was transported to Fountain Private Hospital by ambulance. Here, the doctors assessed his wounds and decided to send him to Mediclinic Potchefstroom for more intensive care. He was bitten so badly that some of the wounds are too wide to be stitched. Although he has been discharged, a nursing professional must clean his wounds daily. As his leg must be kept tightly bandaged, Snyman is not sure how many stitches he has. According to him, he has never seen the two dogs before. “I have been riding in this street for the past five or six years but I have never seen these dogs before. I am a dog lover and have ridden past many dogs through the years. These two were different because they did not even bark. They just immediately charged and attacked me,” he says. He later found out that the same dogs were allegedly involved in two separate attacks only weeks before they bit him. One of these victims opened a case with the police after hearing about the attack on Snyman. Snyman also plans to open a case with the police once he is in a state to do so. The Carletonville SPCA has since confiscated the male dogs on the police’s instruc- tion. As far as could be determined, they got out of their owner’s yard after someone left the gate unlatched. At the time of the news- paper going to print, the fate of the animals was still unknown. “Dogs must be kept in a closed yard; this is the responsibility of the owner. The owner is responsible for all the claims in respect of damage or bodily harm caused by the dogs. Dogs running around the streets should be reported to the SPCA. The Public Safety and Security Section enforces the by-laws,” said a spokesperson from the Merafong City Local Municipality when asked about the stipulations by the by-laws concerning dogs not kept in yards. Last month, another dog attack in the area made news headlines after three pit bulls attacked and critically injured a 47-year-old woman in Potchefstroom.
