People have described the horror of seeing a toddler seized by the throat by a pit bull on Wednesday on a smallholding in Gonubie, East London.
The baby, 15-month-old Reuben le Roux, died of his injuries in Frere Hospital.
The owner of the dog, Noleen Fourie, desperately tried to free Reuben after the pit bull, Whisky, lunged for the baby’s throat and dragged him 3m across her yard.
It has emerged that in the past year the animal had killed two other dogs.
Fourie said she will have Whisky put down.
The call for a ban on pit bulls in SA is growing louder.
A petition by the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation to ban the breed as a domestic animal had reached more than 120,000 signatures before the news broke of the horror attack on Reuben at Hollows Farm.
Reuben’s mother Maryke van der Mescht, 37, was devastated by the attack on her son, but said the six-year-old dog had never before shown signs of aggression during their weekly visits.
Through sobs, Van der Mescht said: “I’m broken. Every time I visited Noleen before, the dog had never done anything to my baby. Yesterday was the first time.
“The dog was at the washing line and I was sitting around the corner on steps feeding the baby. The dog was barking at other dogs and getting angry. Then it sped around the corner and grabbed my baby by the neck.
“I was screaming the whole time, ‘Help, help!’, and everybody was coming to see what was happening.
“Noleen took us to the ambulance depot but the depot was taking too long. Reuben was bleeding. It was taking so long. When my baby was taken to the hospital his heart stopped.”
The child’s father, Bennie le Roux, 42, is anguished.
“This woman’s dog bit my kid. I hate her, I hate that dog,” Le Roux said.
Fourie, 65, said she had rescued Whisky in 2020. She said the dog had been confined to a small verandah his entire life.
“I don’t know if I should blame myself or if it’s God’s will that he wanted the baby home,” Fourie said.
“Yesterday we were all sitting outside, the mother, the little boy and myself. She got a basin and put water in and he was playing in the water. The mother said, ‘You must come to me I’ll give you a piece of cake.’ So he was basically right against her chest.
“The next thing when the dogs barked, I think Whisky went blank and grabbed the child by the neck.
“He still had the child. I put my fingers in his nose and he let go of the child.
“I grabbed the child, put a towel around him and my neighbour took us to Frere Hospital.
“I was holding the baby, trying to hold his head straight to save blood.”
Fourie said the dog had attacked two other dogs earlier this year, one of which had run onto her property.
“He’s never been aggressive to me but he killed two dogs on the farm.
“I had him in the car with me. When I got to my neighbour, her boyfriend opened the gate and their dog ran out and Whisky decided it was a game, a toy.”
Fourie said the second incident occurred when her neighbour’s dog entered her yard, where Whisky attacked and killed it.
“People don’t come into my yard without calling me. I put broomsticks in the fence because he was crawling underneath to come and visit me at one of my friends on the farm. Otherwise, he’s been fine.
“I will do what I have to do. All along I’ve said to myself if that dog hurts, bites or injures a person it will break my heart but I would put him down.”
Neighbour Martin Williams, 64, who witnessed the attack, said neighbours had raised safety concerns after the dog killed two dogs four months ago.
“That dog killed two other dogs this year. I wouldn’t even go there.
“People were saying it’s only a matter of time before this dog kills someone or attacks a child. It’s traumatic.”
Williams described what he saw. He said the two women were sitting on back steps when the attack happened. “Van der Mescht’s baby was in front of her and the next minute that dog grabbed him around the throat, and threw him like a rag doll. He lifted the baby right up.
“It was quick. The dog didn’t make any noise. If Fourie hadn’t held the dog it would have carried on.”
Police confirmed the child died at the Frere Hospital on Wednesday evening and said an investigation was continuing.
SPCA senior inspector Andries Venter said its officials went to the smallholding on Wednesday night to take the animal.
“We were called by police and responded for the safety of the animal due to the recent media hype,” Venter said.
“We removed the dog to the SPCA while police investigate the matter. Vets will put it down because of the fear of rabies. Pathologists have asked for a rabies test.
“Our concern is that people need to be more aware of their pets, and where they leave their children with their pets. It could happen with any breed. It is not breed-specific. The SPCA is not here to ban pit bulls or a specific breed.”
Kupelo said the foundation had launched the petition for the ban on pit bulls to save lives, especially those of children.
“The boy’s life was tragically cut short. This could have been prevented had the animals been banned, as they are in many countries,” he said.
“We are calling on government leaders to protect future leaders of this country by ensuring everyone has the right to life, as our constitution guarantees.
“The government must end this slaughter by banning pit bulls. Though it won’t bring back the little one, we are calling on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the owner of the dog is held to account.”
The breed is banned or highly regulated in Singapore, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Italy, Ecuador, Denmark and Venezuela.
Advocate Sibulelo Seti, a senior lecturer at the University of Fort Hare, said the law considered the breed to be a domestic animal.
“There aren’t any regulations relating specifically to pit bulls,” Seti said.
“If you have a domestic animal, you have an obligation to ensure it doesn’t commit a crime. If that happens, as the owner you become liable.”
Seti said in most cases damages could be claimed in a civil procedure alongside criminal prosecution. Owners could be charged with culpable homicide, not murder, and those charged could be sentenced to 15 years.
“The charge is culpable homicide, based on the assumption there is no intention to cause harm. In this context, I think it’s best if parliament comes up with legislation that regulates the issue of pit bulls.
“Another option as a further deterrent is to ensure the owner of a pit bull involved in an incident is charged with murder instead of homicide.”
Brig Tembinkosi Kinana said police had opened an inquest docket.
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