People have described the horror of seeing a toddler seized by the throat by a pit bull on Wednesday on a Gonubie smallholding.
The baby, 15-month-old Reuben le Roux, later died of his injuries in Frere Hospital.
The owner of the dog, Noleen Fourie, desperately tried to free little Reuben after the pit bull, Whisky, had lunged for the baby’s throat and dragged him three metres across her yard.
It has now emerged that in the past year, the animal had killed two other dogs.
Fourie says she will have Whisky put down.
The call for a ban of pit bulls in SA is getting 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, of Hollows Farm, 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 by the washing line and I was sitting around the corner on the 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 out to see what was happening.
“Noleen took us to the ambulance depot and the depot was taking too long.
“Reuben was still bleeding, it was taking so long ... When my baby was taken to the hospital his heart stopped.”
The child’s father, Benny le Roux, 42, said he could not forgive Fourie or his wife.
“This lady’s dog bit my kid, I hate her, I hate that dog,” Le Roux said.
“People told me that Reuben was playing outside alone. Why did Maryke take him to that yard?”
Fourie, 65, said she had rescued Whisky in 2020. The dog had been confined to a small veranda his whole life.
“I don’t know if I should blame myself for it or if it’s just 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.
“Then 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 just went blank and grabbed the child by the neck.
“He still had the child. I put my fingers in his nose, 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 up straight to save blood.”
Fourie said that the dog had attacked two other dogs earlier this year, one of which had run on to her property.
“He’s never been aggressive to me but he’s already killed two dogs on the farm.
“I had him in the car with me, and when I got to my neighbour her boyfriend opened the gate and the dog ran out and Whisky decided it was a game, a toy.”
Fourie explained that the second incident occurred when her neighbour’s dog came into 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 or 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 that 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. The two women were sitting on the back steps when the attack happened.
He said: “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 — lifted the baby right up.
“It was quick, it didn’t make any noise. If Fourie hadn’t held the dog it would’ve just carried on.”
Police confirmed that the child died at the Frere Hospital on Wednesday evening and that an investigation was continuing.
SPCA senior inspector Andries Venter said SPCA officials arrived at the smallholding on Wednesday night to retrieve the animal.
“We were called out by police and responded for the safety of the animal due to the recent media hype,” Venter said.
“We then removed the dog to the SPCA while the 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.
“We are calling on government leaders to protect the 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 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 that 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.
“Now, 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 our 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 one of these incidents is charged with murder instead of homicide.”
Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said that police had opened an inquest docket.
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