MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Five women have made affidavits claiming they have either been attacked or that their dogs were attacked by a Reebok woman's dogs, allegedly boxers, in separate incidents between 25 July 2022 and 13 July this year.
The five have said they feel scared and unsafe walking in certain streets in the area and worry that if the matter is not addressed, a child or person could be severely injured or even killed.
The affidavits were taken by Great Brak Police Station and police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies said that while no criminal cases had been opened, the matter was currently being handled by the Mossel
Bay Municipality's Law Enforcement department.
The municipality says the matter is sub judice and further information can be provided after the matter is settled by the court.
The dog owner is known to Mossel Bay Advertiser.
Allegations
Here are some of the allegations made:
Susan Rosenberg Kleyn alleged she was attacked while walking on the beach near Seeplaas with her Jack Russell at about 16:00 on 13 July.
"I have nightmares about it. I feel unsafe," said Rosenberg Kleyn.
She claims she was walking with her dogwhen she saw a woman running with two dogs. One was on a leash while the other was allegedly off the leash, ahead of the woman.
Rosenberg Kleyn claimed the dog running ahead, a boxer, bounded towards her and jumped on her back.
"The dog bit my foot and it later turned septic," she alleged.
She said the woman eventually managed to get the dog away from her.
Sanette Terblanche claimed she was attacked by two boxer dogs, allegedly walked by the same woman as in Rosenberg Kleyn's incident, on 19 May 2023.
Beach
Terblanche was walking her Yorkshire terrier on the beach in the Reebok area at about 06:30 when two boxer dogs rushed up to her and bit her on the legs, buttocks, feet and left arm, she alleges.
Terblanche said the dogs still had their leashes attached to their collars but alleged they were not being held
by the woman.
Sanette Terblanche shows her torn and bloodied
walking pants, which she alleges were damaged
in what she claims was an encounter with two
dogs in May last year. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
Terblanche got hold of one of the dog's leashes and when the woman reached her, she took it from Terblanche's hand, allegedly insulted Terblanche and then took off with both her dogs.
Terblanche got stitches for the bites to her legs and a tetanus vaccine. She also alleged there were several incidents previously, when the woman had her dogs off their leashes in the street.
She said she had been traumatised by the attack.
'Off their leashes'
Dottie Hannekom said the boxer dogs, also allegedly walked by the same woman as in the above claims, were off their leashes one morning in March last year.
She had let her dogs out into her garden that morning and she claims the two boxers came to her fence and tried to attack her dogs through it.
She said she had to spray all the dogs with a hose pipe. She alleged the woman did not try to call her dogs away.
"Luckily my dogs were not injured, but I got a big fright," she said.
Husky
Petri Botha said her dog, a husky was attacked while walking in the Reebok area at 07:15 on 21 August 2022.
She claims the two boxer dogs walked by the same woman in the above incident had allegedly been off their leashes and chased her and her dog in three separate prior incidents.
On the day of the alleged attack, she was walking along Kusweg, while the woman and the dogs were on the beach, she claims.
She alleged the dogs were off their leashes, ran up to the road, and jumped on her husky.
"Luckily a husky's fur is thick so they did not injure him and my dog did bite back. The boxers eventually backed off and left. Both my dog and I were traumatised," she said.
Botha alleged she has seen the woman with the dogs off leashes since then.
Andrea Beierle claims she was attacked by the two boxer dogs, walked by the same woman in the above incidents. She said the attack took place on 25 July 2022 while she was walking on the beach.
She alleged the boxer dogs were off their leashes, ran up to her and bit her right ankle and right buttock.
'Screamed'
"I screamed like hell," said Beierle.
She alleged the woman did not try to call the dogs away from her while she was being attacked, but that they calmed down a bit and followed the woman as she walked past Beierle.
Beierle said she confronted the woman and showed her where she had been bitten, but the woman allegedly told Beierle that her dogs did not bite her and that it was just a bruise.
"I had to have a tetanus injection, but the bites were not serious enough for me to need stitches. Since then, I do not go walking on the beach."
Attorney
The dog owner's attorney, Alice Swanepoel, said; "My client categorically denies any wrongdoing and denies that her dogs are a danger, or are acting contrary to their nature."
Swanepoel said: "It is extremely difficult, and even unfair, to expect my client to comment on incidents that allegedly happened years ago and without even knowing who the persons are who are making these claims or when the alleged incidents took place."
She said her client is a well-known and respected member of the community and has numerous encounters with different people daily.
"It is impossible for her to recall incidents that may or may not have occurred in 2022 and 2023," she said.
"In summary, my client has always been transparent, and she has nothing to hide. However, she is unable to comment on incidents that are a figment of other people’s imaginations and that have not been sustained by any documentation, identity of complainants or any detail pertaining to the alleged incidents," she said.
Act states that owners whose dogs bite people, can be jailed for two years
According to the Animal Matter Amendment Act 42 of 1993, "Any person as a result of whose negligence an animal causes injury to another person, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years."
The full act can be found at www. gov.za/documents/animal-mattersamendment-act.
According to Mossel Bay Municipality, there is a municipal by-law related to the keeping of dogs.
It applies to all dogs. In terms of the by-law, no person may allow, cause or permit any dog owned, entrusted to, under control of, or kept by a person to be in any public road or public place except on a leash and under control of a responsible person.
The by-law also states no person may allow, cause or permit any dog that is ferocious, vicious or dangerous to be in any public road or public place, unless it is muzzled and held on a leash and under control of some responsible person.
The municipality notes that not adhering to the by-law is a transgression and the transgressor may be prosecuted accordingly.
Complaints about dogs can be reported to the municipality (044 606 5000) or to the directorate of Community Safety at the municipality. The direct number for municipal Law Enforcement is 044 606 5204.
The municipality said that apart from a fine being issued to the owner of the dog, the transgression may be referred to the municipal court for prosecution.
"Should the matter be referred to court, complainants are required to testify," the municipality noted. The by-laws can be found on the Mossel Bay Municipality's website, at www.mosselbay.gov.za/documents-listview/By-Laws.
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