A 44-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man is in critical condition after surviving a pitbull attack that spanned over 20 minutes in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The incident occurred in Trenance Park, in Verulam, north of Durban.
Dogs jumped over the driveway gate
Lazarus Appalsamy was apparently walking to his home on Tasmin Road after visiting a friend when two pitbulls belonging to his neighbour scaled the driveway gate and attacked the 44-year-old.
Just after midnight, residents who witnessed the midnight attack contacted the local first responder team, Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa).
“Reaction Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene and, on arrival, discovered Appalsamy lying on the side of the road,” said Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram.
“According to Appalsamy, he was returning home after visiting a friend when his neighbour’s two pitbulls jumped over the driveway gate and attacked him.
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Dog mauled him for 20 minutes
“His friend attempted to assist but was bitten on his arm and leg,” added Balram.
Witnesses who saw the attack reported that the dogs mauled Appalsamy for more than 20 minutes before their owner arrived and removed the dogs back to his property.
Appalsamy’s injuries were gruesome, and it appeared that the dogs bit out his left eyeball while chunks of flesh from other parts of his body were missing.
He was taken to Osindisweni hospital in critical condition before being transferred to another specialist hospital.
The dogs remain with their owners for now.
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Appalsamy on parole for murder
According to Balram, Appalsamy is currently on parole for murder.
“I remember him very clearly,” Balram recalled to The Citizen.
“I arrested him twenty years ago for stabbing someone multiple times, and what stood out was that he stabbed the person in the eye,” said Balram.
Before that murder, Balram said Appalsamy had frequent run-ins with local authorities for drug-related offences.
It’s unclear if charges have been filed.
The National NSPCA said they were unaware of an attack in Durban.
*This is a developing story.
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