Nothing had prepared me for this. I was absent-minded as I opened the massive aluminum gate, sliding it to one side. And immediately after I gained entrance, I froze in my tracks like a statue. The huge dog came bouncing menacingly at me at terrific speed. It was a pit bull terrier and there was fresh blood on its ugly lips. I could see that it was coming for the kill. I was petrified and almost jumped out of my skin.
Let me take you to the beginning. Rasta had referred me to Ontario after he had completed fitting in the kitchen cupboards. And as I was a painter during my spare time, he had informed me that his client in the northern suburbs wanted his study room and kitchen painted. In the morning, I went to see Ontario about a quotation.
My first mistake was to assume that there was no dog. I only saw the “Beware of the dog” sign much later. And the mother of all mistakes was failing to announce my arrival by knocking on the massive gate first. So one mistake invariably led to another mistake. It was a humungous mistake with near fatal consequences.
And as you all know, the pit bull is known for its great speed and ferocity when provoked. As it came bouncing, time seemed to stand still and all around me everything seemed to be in slow motion except the pit bull. I wanted to scream, nothing came out of my mouth. My tongue tasted like sand paper as my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. I smelled death, not someone’s, but my own.
As the pit bull leaped at me, I caught its smell and the smell of someone’s blood. I could see its ugly canine teeth that could reap out flesh like knife to butter. It was coming for my jugular, a sure kill, then BOOM! I heard a loud bang and the pit bull suddenly went down in a heap, crashing to the ground with great force. It knocked me down as it fell on top of me. I was too weak to do anything. I felt its dead weight on top of me. Still dazed, I thought the shot had hit me too.
Sitting astride the top of the wall separating the two properties was Ontario’s neighbour, gun still in hand. It was a 460 weatherby magnum which produces a booming sound just like the Soviet made AK 47. He saved my life in the nick of time. The pit bull terrier lay dead in its tracks.
There was no sign of life in the house.
Ontario's neighbour called the police as we approached the house. He was Algerian and worked at the Algerian embassy. He spoke broken English.
- Humungous mistake with near fatal consequences
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The door leading to the sitting room was open and we found Ontario lying in a pool of his own blood. Apparently, the pit bull had attacked its owner. Something had gone horribly wrong. It seemed there was no one else in the house.
As we waited for the police to arrive, I could not help to think of other tragedies involving pit bull terriers which mauled their owners to death.
Dogs, including pit bulls can develop emotional trauma or react to stressful situations in a violent way. Poor handling or ignoring dog body language may lead to violent behaviour and this may have led to the tragic demise of Ontario.
It was going to be difficult to establish exactly what had really transpired that morning. What exactly had drove the pit bull terrier into such a violent rage. Ontario had been alone at the time as the rest of his family members had gone out.
*Onie Ndoro
Onie@X90396982
