Rescuer recalls dog attack
last year, is back in the news after he saved a seven-year-old girl from a Rottweiler's jaws.
Keith Richardson told The Royal Gazette yesterday that he was turning onto Hermitage Road when he saw a little girl being followed by a big black dog.
"When I looked again, it was going for her leg,'' he said.
"I stopped, got out and shouted at the dog `Shoo! Shoo! Get away!' and he let go of her and took off,'' he continued.
The girl had been badly bitten and was taken to her school by a passing motorist while Mr. Richardson followed the dog to see if he could locate its home.
Mr. Richardson lost track of the dog and called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Police before carrying on to work at the emergency department of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was doing some plumbing.
The girl later arrived at the hospital to get treatment for the puncture wounds to her leg with her parents.
"The dog was big like a pig,'' said Mr. Richardson. "I was glad I was there to help that little girl.'' According to a report released by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department last year, a total of 930 complaints about dogs were logged in 1998 of which 57 were separate dog attacks, 18 on people, and 39 on animals.
Animal Protection Officer Yvonne Ricca told the The Royal Gazette yesterday that the incident was still under investigation.