A daily afternoon walk with their dogs turned into a nightmare for elderly Sheffield Beach couple Paul and Almari Zietsman, when they were attacked by a loose-running boerboel.

It killed one of their dogs and badly injured the other, while Paul (63) was also bitten on his left hand when he tried to protect his dogs.

“We were about 150m past the house on Cuyler Drive when we heard someone shouting “come here!’”

“When we turned around, we saw the boerboel charging at us. It attacked one of our dogs, Pixie, that later died at the vet. I tried to help my dog but there was not much I could do. It then went for our second dog, Toffie, which was badly injured,” explains Paul.

He says he asked the SPCA in Ballito to check if the dog was vaccinated against rabies, and that he had not spoken to the owner of the dog after the incident.

The owner, Rita Govender, says she was not aware that her dog, Bingo, ‘could do such a thing’.

“It was a very unfortunate incident and traumatising for me also. I was very disappointed by the amount of abuse I received on WhatsApp groups from other residents. I did not plan or know that such a terrible thing could happen,” explains Govender.

She claims someone had tampered with her gate and she was unaware of it until Bingo pushed through it.

“I was not outside when the dog went out. My granddaughter was and called us as soon as Bingo went out,” adds Govender.

She says her dog was last vaccinated in September 2021 and was overdue by several months, but indicated the SPCA did visit her house on Monday morning to check on her dogs.

Dr Kevin Stevens of the Ballito Veterinary Hospital says as much as aggression in some dogs is genetic, it has a lot to do with the upbringing and socialisation of dogs.

He adds that dogs need to be taken out to be around other animals. Many dogs are locked up in a yard, some even tied to a long-running chain and that’s enough to drive them crazy because they are not getting exercise and become extremely frustrated.

“It has a lot to do with how a dog is kept or cared for. Is it exercised regularly? The other important factor is discipline. Large breeds need a strong leader who must be firm without being cruel. There are many ways of doing it. Without discipline, dogs misbehave,” explains Stevens.

He adds that it is the owner’s responsibility to keep their animals in the yard, immunised, fed properly and dewormed.

Regarding rabies, he says the vaccine is effective for three years but it is advisable to vaccinate one’s dog every year.

The SPCA had not responded at the time of publication.