August 19th, 2011
A four year old girl was tragically mauled to death this week by a neighbour’s escaped pitbull in Melbourne, Australia.
Ayen Chol, whose family is originally from Sudan, was watching TV with her cousins when the dog ran in from the next-door garden. As her mother tried to protect the children from the vicious dog, terrified Ayen clung to her leg. The pitbull pulled the child off and fatally attacked her. She died in just a few minutes – before paramedics could make it to the scene.
Jackline Anchito, the little girl’s mother, says she is devastated and that Ayen was “a loving child, and a very clever child. She died as she was struggling for her life.” A 30 year old woman and another 5 year old child were also badly injured in the attack. The family were staying in the house with relatives as their own home had been destroyed in a fire last month.
The dog has been put down and Melbourne police are currently making decisions on charges that the pitbull’s owner should face. Mrs Anchito says that the dog’s death brings her little solace: “There is nothing I would really wish to be done to the dog because at the end of the day even if the dog is killed it’s not going to bring my daughter back.” she said.
The tragedy has brought up serious debate in Australia about whether certain dangerous dog breeds should be banned completely. Purebred pitbulls are currently under restricted status in Australia – meaning the dogs must be registered, microchipped, desexed and chained in an outdoor concrete enclosure. Owners must display a warning sign on their property and keep the dogs muzzled and leashed when in public places. Local authorities say that this dog was not registered, but was also not entirely restricted as it appeared to be a pitbull cross.
Colin Muir, the president of the American Pit Bull Terrier Club of Australia, refutes the ban proposal: “A breed doesn’t do these things, an individual dog does, and it’s irrelevant what the breed is. Is a pitbull more dangerous than a chihuahua? I would say yes, but it’s all relative.”
We’d like to know what our readers think. Are attacks like this down to the breed, the particular dog, or the owner? Should breeds that are deemed dangerous be banned completely?
By Sinéad. Posted in Dogs, News
August 18th, 2011
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10. Margay
The Margay is a solitary, nocturnal cat that is only to be found in the most remote parts of South American rainforests. It is highly adept at climbing and spends almost all of its time in trees – they can climb head-first down trunks and can swivel their ankles 180 degrees. Living among treetops with as much ease as primates and birds, the Margay has even been seen hanging from branches with one foot.
9. Serval
This medium-sized, slender cat shares a lot of traits with the Cheetah. They have the longest legs of any cat species (relative to their body) and have quite a small head with large oval ears. They have been known to leap 2-3 metres in the air to catch birds flying over head. Found mainly in Africa’s grassy savannahs, they do not stray into arid desert regions.
By Sinéad. Posted in Cats
August 17th, 2011
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On the run since May, Yvonne the fugitive cow is growing more notorious with every day she is missing. The six year old is thought to have sensed the impending doom of the abattoir before breaking free into the German countryside.
The cow on the loose was deemed a traffic risk by German police when she suddenly emerged from her forest hiding spot, directly into the path of an oncoming patrol car – permission was granted for local hunters to shoot Yvonne on sight.
This decision has enraged animal rights activists, so the search is now on to save the cow from hunters, traffic and the hardship of living alone amid the wild Bavarian landscape. German tabloid Bild, has offered a €10,000 reward to those who find the elusive bovine. Several parties have now conspired to find Yvonne – some for the well-being of the cow and some for the tidy sum offered by the paper.
Michael Aufhuser, founder of an Austrian animal welfare sanctuary named Gut Aiderbichl, hopes that the cow’s female urges will get the better of her. Enlisting the help of local bull lothario, Ernst, Aufhuser believes that Yvonne will not be able to resist the so-called “George Clooney of bulls”.
As well as this, an animal psychic has been brought forward to help in the search operation. Telepathy expert, Franziska Matti says, “I spoke to her yesterday… she was fine but didn’t feel ready to come out of hiding. She said she thought that humans would lock her up and she would no longer be free.”
Pictured is Waltraut, the sister cow of Yvonne that the owners hope will lure her out of her hiding spot. It is now thought that Yvonne’s son, Freisi, has been tracked down to a local farm and is also to be sent into the Muehldorf forest, hopefully emitting a call that no mother could refuse to answer.
By Sinéad. Posted in Funny, Lost & Found, News
August 12th, 2011
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By Sinéad. Posted in Dogs, Random
August 10th, 2011
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Hero dog Bella was seen calmly trotting down her street in Stellenbosch, South Africa, just minutes after she thwarted a pair of burglars from breaking into her home. The resilient Terrier/Alsatian cross did not seem to realise the knife protruding from her forehead – the criminals had savagely stabbed her, plunging the weapon 5 inches into her skull.
Her owner, Vernon Swart says of the incident, “’I was in the house on Saturday morning when the neighbours called to say our dog was running around in the street with a massive knife in her head. I didn’t believe them but when I went outside I saw it for myself. She hardly seemed to have noticed at all.”
Bella kept up her high spirits on the rush to the vet, still mostly unaware of the utensil which had narrowly missed her eyes. She was put under general anaesthetic and was given 6 stitches for the wound. Mr. Swart says that the knife was so far embedded that the vet had to put his knee against the dog’s head to pull it out. “The vet said it must have missed her brain by fractions of a centimetre and otherwise she would have been dead.”
South African police are now on the hunt for the thieves, while six year old Bella is being spoilt at home. “She’s been lying beside the fire and we’ve been treating her to all sorts of nice food, but she seems absolutely fine.” It is expected she will make a full recovery. Swart added, “’I've told the police that if they find the guys who did this we’d like to leave them alone in a room for a few minutes with Bella, and she’d quickly get her revenge.”
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