Lungani Zungu
An Umlazi woman is lucky to be alive after she was attacked by two pit bulls on Sunday.
Thandazile Gumede was coming back from church when her neighbour’s pit bulls pounced on her.
“I looked death in the face but I was not ready to die. I fought with all the power I had in me,” she told Scrolla.Africa.
She said all she could think of was her two children aged four and seven.
The neighbours raced to her defence when she fell on her back as she was wrestling with the animals.
Some beat the dogs with sticks, while others poured water on them. The dogs eventually gave up and went back to their owner’s house.
When the angry community wanted to kill the dogs, the owner, known as John, pleaded with them to spare his dogs’ lives.
John declined to talk to Scrolla.Africa.
The attack left Thandazile with wounds to her back and neck.
She lashed out at people who defend the controversial dogs.
“Those dogs are vicious. I could see in their eyes that they wanted to kill me,” she said.
“They should be banned altogether. I don’t understand why people are still defending these dogs when people are dying.”
Vusumusi Ngcobo, a neighbour who witnessed the brutal encounter, told Scrolla.Africa that if it weren’t for the community’s swift intervention, Thandazile would be dead.
“The community saved her life. She should be thankful.”
Like Thandazile and thousands of other South Africans, Vusumusi called for the banning of pit bulls.
Unlike Thandazile, an Eastern Cape woman Zimkhitha Brenda Gaga, was mauled to death by three pit bulls in Port Alfred over the weekend.
The calls for the banning of pit bulls are gaining momentum after a spate of fatal attacks in the past two weeks.
Pictured above: Thandazile Gumede showing where she was attacked by dogs
Picture source: Lungani Zungu
