E-Paper
Pet dog attacks kid in Bengaluru, fourth incident this month
The incident took place at 7.30 am on Wednesday near Krishna Theater on Basavanapura main road when the survivor was walking in front of the dog owner’s house, officials said.
Bengaluru A four-year-old girl sustained serious injuries after she was attacked by a German Shepherd dog owned by her neighbours in Bengaluru’s KR Pura, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The injured girl has been identified as Vineesha Gowda and the dog belongs to Shylaja, who lives four houses away from her residence. The incident took place at 7.30 am on Wednesday near Krishna Theater on Basavanapura main road when the survivor was walking in front of Shylaja’s house, officials said.
The dog stormed out seeing the gate open and attacked the girl by biting her neck, hand and arms, thereby, severely injuring her. Vineesha’s father, a lecturer at a private college, and other local residents rushed to rescue the girl after hearing her scream.
She was given preliminary treatment at KR Pura government hospital and was later admitted to Victoria hospital in the city. Vineesha is back home after treatment, officials said. No case of the incident has been registered so far.
The footage of the dog attacking the child was caught on the CCTV camera. The video of the incident was widely shared on social media.
This is the third incident of a dog attacking a child in Bengaluru this month. Earlier, a nine-year-old child was attacked by a pet dog in Kadugodi. In another incident, an eleven-year-old boy was also mauled by a pet dog in the city’s Jayanagar area.
Meanwhile, Yasmine Claire of Animal Aid Alliance, who has worked for a decade in the animal welfare community of Bengaluru, said every pet dog attack is an individual case, and to uniforly assume such incidents are on the rise without knowing the circumstances isn’t the way to find a solution.
“Every case, no matter how serious, needs to be examined. In all the years I’ve spent time with animals and fostered them, no dog is going to bite without what is perceived as some kind of provocation. This is not to say that the four-year-old child provoked the dog. But what were the circumstances surrounding it?”
“Very often I’ve seen parents, especially with very small children, pointing fingers at the dog and saying that it will bite, for no reason. There’s this building up of fear when it doesn’t need to be there. It could also be that the pet dog owner could have taken good care of it, or abused it, maybe there’s a confined space or the dog feels a threat,” she said.
“A solution to this is, when the dog is out, it is a good idea to keep it in a harness or a leash. People should make sure they keep a distance if they are not sure about the dog. I would also advise parents to not let children of such small young to walk around unaccompanied,” Claire added.
