It was a regular Saturday morning in early January when Suzanne Beukes took her puppy, Charka for a walk around the block in Villieria, Pretoria. The neighbourhood was just starting to wake up, which meant the two could enjoy the surrounds in relative peace. But this walk was not going to be like the others that they took so many times before. This one would see Suzanne lose a finger to save Charka’s life.
The attack
As the two were passing by their next-door neighbour’s house on their way home, Suzanne heard loud barking. She turned to see what was happening and was confronted with a Pit Bull charging at them from her neighbour’s open gate.
The dog immediately went for little Charka and started biting the puppy. Suzanne pulled on Charka’s leash to try and create distance between the two dogs, but the Pit Bull did not let up. With no other choice left, Suzanne decided to jump in.
She bent down to scoop up Charka, which caused the Pit Bull to attack her instead and lock its jaws around the ring finger on her left hand. Suzanne could feel the bone crunch and soon realised that her only chance of escaping would be to lose the finger.
The rescue
Suzanne had heroically managed to save little Charka from danger, but was now in danger herself. Her screams had attracted the attention of neighbours and strangers, but they were too late to stop the Pit Bull from completely removing Suzanne’s finger.
With Suzanne now free and help on the scene to keep Charka safe, she could finally see to her injury. Her fiancé had heard the commotion from next door and ran outside out to find her covered in blood. He took her inside to perform First Aid and then rushed her to the hospital. Charka was taken to the vet at the same time and, thanks to Suzanne’s bravery, did not sustain serious physical injuries.
8 Months later
Both Suzanne and Charka are still affected by the incident. They now go to a dog park for their walks and Suzanne refuses to walk past her neighbours’ home by herself. Charka loves playing with other dogs, but still cowers when one charges at her.
Amazingly Suzanne does not blame the Pit Bull for what happened, but instead thinks the owners should be held responsible. She believes that Pit Bulls can be caring animals if they are properly trained and socialised from puppyhood. “It is not the dog’s fault if an attack happens, it is the owner’s fault for not training them and caring for them in the proper way.”
She also strongly believes that owners of powerful dogs should take the necessary precautions to ensure the dog is not a danger to others and suggests regularly taking them outside the home’s yard to avoid them becoming territorial. She also believes that these dogs should only be given to those who are old enough to really understand the dog’s needs and those who are able to give the dog proper care. “Dogs need constant love and attention from us. If you cannot provide this, please don’t get a dog.”
Additional info
To find out what you should and should not do in the event of a dog attack, check out this month’s Ask The Expert article on handling aggressive dogs. To get to know Pitt Bull Terriers a little better, read our Know Your Breed article.
It was a regular Saturday morning in early January when Suzanne Beukes took her puppy, Charka for a walk around the block in Villieria, Pretoria. The neighbourhood was just starting to wake up, which meant the two could enjoy the surrounds in relative peace. But this walk was not going to be like the others that they took so many times before. This one would see Suzanne lose a finger to save Charka’s life.
The attack
As the two were passing by their next-door neighbour’s house on their way home, Suzanne heard loud barking. She turned to see what was happening and was confronted with a Pit Bull charging at them from her neighbour’s open gate.
The dog immediately went for little Charka and started biting the puppy. Suzanne pulled on Charka’s leash to try and create distance between the two dogs, but the Pit Bull did not let up. With no other choice left, Suzanne decided to jump in.
She bent down to scoop up Charka, which caused the Pit Bull to attack her instead and lock its jaws around the ring finger on her left hand. Suzanne could feel the bone crunch and soon realised that her only chance of escaping would be to lose the finger.
The rescue
Suzanne had heroically managed to save little Charka from danger, but was now in danger herself. Her screams had attracted the attention of neighbours and strangers, but they were too late to stop the Pit Bull from completely removing Suzanne’s finger.
With Suzanne now free and help on the scene to keep Charka safe, she could finally see to her injury. Her fiancé had heard the commotion from next door and ran outside out to find her covered in blood. He took her inside to perform First Aid and then rushed her to the hospital. Charka was taken to the vet at the same time and, thanks to Suzanne’s bravery, did not sustain serious physical injuries.
8 Months later
Both Suzanne and Charka are still affected by the incident. They now go to a dog park for their walks and Suzanne refuses to walk past her neighbours’ home by herself. Charka loves playing with other dogs, but still cowers when one charges at her.
Amazingly Suzanne does not blame the Pit Bull for what happened, but instead thinks the owners should be held responsible. She believes that Pit Bulls can be caring animals if they are properly trained and socialised from puppyhood. “It is not the dog’s fault if an attack happens, it is the owner’s fault for not training them and caring for them in the proper way.”
She also strongly believes that owners of powerful dogs should take the necessary precautions to ensure the dog is not a danger to others and suggests regularly taking them outside the home’s yard to avoid them becoming territorial. She also believes that these dogs should only be given to those who are old enough to really understand the dog’s needs and those who are able to give the dog proper care. “Dogs need constant love and attention from us. If you cannot provide this, please don’t get a dog.”
Additional info
To find out what you should and should not do in the event of a dog attack, check out this month’s Ask The Expert article on handling aggressive dogs. To get to know Pitt Bull Terriers a little better, read our Know Your Breed article.
