Burglars beat to death family dog

SECUNDA – “Mom, are we safe? Why did they have to kill Lilo?”

These are the questions from their kids that Mr Joshua and Ms Sarina Herselman find difficult to answer.

Burglers targeted their house in Lanzerac Street on Monday morning, 23 April. The Herselmans found the carcass of Lilo, their beloved German shepherd, on their front lawn as they were heading to school. Herculus, the border collie, was cowering under a shed in the backyard.

It appears that Lilo was beaten to death.

“There is no sign of poisoning. She was a very good guard dog and would have attacked someone scaling our fence. We find it strange that we did not hear the attack during the night,” said Ms Herselman.

“Joshua actually woke up at about 2am from dogs barking in the neighbourhood, but nothing seemed out of place at the time.”

Also read: Burglars kill family dog to break into Secunda house while owners are asleep

The Herselman couple said they went back to bed and must have slept through the entire ordeal.

“We only realised what had happened when I was preparing to take the kids to school,” said Ms Herselman.

Mr Herselman went to work at 5.30am, but did not see Lilo close to the front door. He did however notice that the safety door was difficult to open.

Ms Herselman found Lilo’s carcass a while later. “I saw the dog lying on the lawn and knocked on the sliding glass door to get her attention. I knew something was wrong when she did not respond.”

The couple’s son, Ludwig (18) eventually found Herculus in the backyard. The dog was curled up behind a couch when the newspaper visited the Herselmans.

Herculus eventually crawled up closer when he realised the visitors meant no harm. He offered his head for a rub and then crawled back into his hiding spot.

The burglars gained access to the house via a security door on the side of the house. They stole a television and other electrical appliances.

“We thank God for His protection over our family and that we were unharmed, but my daughter, Sterna (12), was especially traumatised by this. She asked whether we were safe. She also loved Lilo dearly and cannot understand how someone can be this cruel,” Ms Herselman said.

Mr Herselman rushed home when he heard what had happened. He was digging a grave for Lilo in the backyard when the newspaper arrived.