MAKHALA Ramaela was tired of her house being broken into. So she got two vicious pitbull dogs to protect herself.
What the 47-year-old from G Section in Botshabelo in the Free State did not anticipate was that the same dogs would one day bite the hand that fed them.
Now Makhala is recovering at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein.
To this day she is puzzled by what made her beloved dogs turn against her on Saturday.
Makhala said she had been living alone for a long time and thugs were terrorising her.
Five years ago she decided to get the dogs. The dogs – a bitch named Siby and a male named Rex – eventually built a loving and protective relationship with her.
“I managed to tame them and fed them every morning before work. My dogs loved me. I would find them peering over the devils’ fork waiting for me after work. They would jump with joy as I entered the yard,” she said.
But on Saturday the dogs attacked her viciously.
“I was shocked and realised something was not right. I screamed for help as the dogs started to attack.
“I thought I could get away by running into the outside toilet but that was not to be. They just tore into me.”
Her scared neighbours tried to save her by spraying the dogs with water.
“That actually made them more enraged. I was rescued by the arrival of the police who fired some shots.”
Police spokesman Constable Peter Kareli confirmed the incident.
One of the dogs has since died. Constable Kareli said they are waiting for the owner to decide the other dog’s fate.
