A 17-year-old boy from White River in Mpumalanga suffered more than 40 lacerations and cuts when he was attacked by dogs on Monday.

Joel Burnhams had just completed a home workout and decided to cycle on a scenic route along a stretch of macadamia trees when his late afternoon trip took a bloody and violent turn.

According to what the boy told his family, two large Rottweilers that were roaming freely, had rushed at him, knocking him off his bicycle, and started biting down his legs and arms.

Joel was dragged to the ground while a third Rottweiler joined in to bite and tear through his shoulder, legs and arms.

His father, Gavin, said his son had a knife with him that he used to slash at the dogs to get them off him.

The boy was eventually able to escape from the dogs and, still bleeding, made his way to a nearby property where he asked for help. The resident there, Adv Twain Ngwenya, phoned his parents as well as Fidelity ADT, which then phoned ER24.

Ngwenya helped to transport Joel who was transferred to the ambulance at the Parkville garage – Burnhams said the attendants even asked how his son was doing after the whole ordeal when they saw him again.

The owner of the dogs, Piet van Rensburg, confirmed the incident and said he had spoken to Burnhams father, conveyed his condolences and said he was grateful that the boy was still alive. He said he has since put down two of the dogs.

The family’s concern is about future occurrences like these, and they want to warn both owners of ‘potentially dangerous dogs’ as well as members of the public to be vigilant of situations like these.

Burnhams’ brother, Josh Ball, said when he drove past the site where the incident had occurred on Tuesday, there was a young couple walking with their toddler and a baby in a pram.

“I called Joel and he mentioned the same thing to me – he had seen a couple walking with their children in the area on the same day that he was attacked.

“If it wasn’t someone as fit or as strong as my little brother, another child could have been killed.”

The boy’s father said, “The concern for my son is obviously that he is going to have to recover from his injuries. He had a plastic surgeon work on him for more than two and a half hours.”

Aside from the concern for his son, the bottom line for him is the fact that owners of dogs need to take responsibility for their dogs’ actions.

It is unclear whether the family will be taking legal action against Van Rensburg, but whatever comes from the incident, Burnhams said it would not be for personal gain, but to prove a point.

“These dogs potentially nearly killed my son. Were he any weaker or smaller, he would have lost his life.”