WHEN Richard Marchussen left his uMhlanga home for his usual walk last Sunday, he had no idea it would end with a visit to the casualty ward at a nearby hospital to treat a gaping wound from a dog bite.

Marchussen said he was bitten by two dogs, from a pack of six, that charged at him in Portland Drive, a route he walks before he joins his wife, Dominique, on the promenade.

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“I saw the dogs roaming outside the property, but I didn’t feel threatened at all. I’m not afraid of dogs and I didn’t think there would be trouble coming,” he said.

As he walked past the dogs, two of them charged at him. One locked its jaw around Marchussen’s shin and the other grabbed his left arm.

“The one that bit my leg, I am pretty sure, was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I fell to the ground. The dog that grabbed my arm, let go almost immediately. I was screaming at the other dog to let go, but he wouldn’t,” said Marchussen.

Cyclists, who were in the vicinity at the time, saw the incident and moved in to help.

He said the cyclists screamed at the dog and it eventually let go. The pack then ran off, but Marchussen didn’t see the direction they ran in.

“I don’t know how long the ordeal lasted for. It was probably about 20 seconds, but it felt like a minute,” he said.

A kind motorist, Van, drove past after the incident and offered to take Marchussen to a nearby hospital. Marchussen then called his wife and told her what had transpired.

“The pain was excruciating and I went into shock, but the casualty staff did a wonderful job and made sure I was as comfortable as possible.”

On his return home from the hospital, Marchussen drove by the area where the incident occurred, in the hopes of establishing where the dogs had come from.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the dogs. I went to open a case at the police station and the officer on duty said there was a complaint, possibly about the same dogs, the day before I was bitten,” he said.

Marchussen didn’t lay a criminal charge after the policeman explained the red tape involved.
“A lot of people, like me, take regular walks along Portland Drive and I would like to warn people to be careful of these dogs. It was a scary ordeal and I wouldn’t want someone else to experience what I did,” he said.

Tanya Fleischer, the marketing manager for Durban and South SPCA, said the local municipality in each town is responsible for complaints regarding stray animals, animals in the street, roaming, causing a nuisance or attacking people.

“The mandate of the SPCA is to prevent cruelty to animals, however, the local municipality in each town is responsible for complaints regarding stray animals. The SPCA is mandated to act in terms of welfare concerns related to the Animals Protection Act no. 71 of 1962, which protects animals against cruelty. The SPCA has no jurisdiction in terms of the municipal by-laws,” she said.

She added that animal related complaints related to the by-laws should be directed to the local municipality or Metro Police.
“We recommend that complaints are in writing so that there is record of the complaint.

“You may report stray animals, aggressive animals, dogs chasing vehicles or people, animals being a nuisance, excessive noise, ripping open rubbish bags, defecating in public places and the like,” said Fleischer.