Tougher laws on dog owners must be drawn out and effectively enforced following the dog attack which killed 74-year-old jogger Yip Sun Wah in Subang Jaya two days ago. Seeing as this was not the first case of a fatal dog attacks, the government should seriously consider stricter rules when it comes to issuing licenses on certain breed of dogs, especially those that are known to be vicious.

On Tuesday, bull-terrier ran out of its owners’ home through the rubbish compartment door which was not properly secured and attacked Yip while he was out jogging in the morning at Jalan SS19/5B. Yip died at the scene after the dog bit him on the neck and almost tore off his left ear in the 9:50am incident. Reports said the dog attacked the victim for almost four minutes before returning home.

A car salesman who tried to help Yip said he tried to hit the dog with his umbrella but it was too aggressive and only stopped attacking after Yip was motionless. It is learnt that the owner had just got the animal about three months ago from a private kennel after her house was robbed. Police also confirmed that the owner has a license to keep the dog.

The incident had prompted Subang Jaya Municipal Council (SJMC) to check residential areas in the township for breeds that were said to be aggressive and dangerous.

“Seven dog breeds, namely Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanesa Tosa and American Pit Bull are predisposed to aggressive or dangerous behavior,” SJMC director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin said yesterday.

The council is also enforcing a directive from the Selangor Veterinary Department to ban these “unmanageable or possibly dangerous” breeds.


Other Recent Cases

On April 18, seven-year-old Dhiya Qairina Muhammad Nur Akmal was attacked by a dog while she was cycling with a friend outside her house at 6:45pm in Lorong Perda Timur 9 in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. The dog was said to have attacked Dhiya Qairina when she fell off her bicycle. She suffered deep gashes on her buttocks and back.

The dog’s owner, teacher V Thinakaran, 49, pleaded guilty and was fined RM2,000 by magistrate court for negligently failing to restraint his dog from mauling Dhiya Qairina. He was charged under Section 289 of the Penal Code for not guarding an animal in his possession against causing danger to human life or grievous hurt, which carries a six months jail sentence, or RM2,000 fine or both. The Seberang Prai Municipal Council had earlier slapped him with a RM500 fine for not renewing the dog's license.

On Jan 8 last year, Irishman Maurice Sullivan, 50, died after he was mauled by two dogs at a farm in Penang while he was taking photos at an organic orchard.

In November 2003, a Rottweiler attacked M Devaraj, 10, in Island Glades, Penang. He was seriously injured.

In November 2001, a neighbor’s pet mongrel bit a nine-year-old South Korean boy Lee Han-eul in Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. The boy sustained 15 wounds on his right arm and chest that needed several stitches.

In 1994, a three-year-old Rottweiler named LeRoq, mauled a grandmother Neoh Kim Lean to death. The 70-year-old woman, who lived in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, died on the way to the Universiti Hospital. Part of her scalp and an ear was bitten off.


Tougher Laws

“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” This popular pro-gun saying is only half correct if it were to be used in terms of dog-ownership. For one, dogs are living beings with emotions and temperaments. In other words, with living animals, you don’t have to squeeze its ‘trigger’ as there are various things that could trigger set of an animal’s wild instincts. On the other hand, it is each pet-owner’s responsibility to train and keep their dogs under control.

Last year, Dr Roslan said MPSJ received 2,287 complaints from January to November last year, out of which 1,506 were dog-related complaints.

“The complaints were mostly related to safety – where owners fail to put their dogs on a leash while taking them out for walks. Others include incessant barking, not cleaning up dog excrement, no dog license and leaving their dogs outside the homes without supervision,” he said.

He added that the council had acted on the complaints and 148 compounds were issued during that period.

Dog owners were slapped with a maximum fine of RM1,000 under the Licensing of Dogs and Kennel Establishments By-laws 2007 under the Local Government Act 1976 for not having a license for dogs above three months old, for not abiding sanitary requirements in keeping dogs, keeping dogs in apartments and failure to immunize the canines.

Dr Roslan said MPSJ also restricted dog owners from bringing their dogs for a walk in public places, shopping complexes, religious places, all government and private offices, government and private schools and on public transport.

Meanwhile, PAWS Animal Welfare Society Malaysia rescuer Molly Brown said the state veterinary department and MPSJ should rethink its action of wanting to confiscate dogs from the seven breeds from their owners based on their aggressive predisposition.

“Even people are aggressive and bite but we must see what leads to such tendencies. Little dogs like Shihtzu or Maltese are aggressive and can bite but this could be due to inbreeding or ill treatment while it was a pup. So, the authorities cannot just take away a dog,” she said.

Brown added that a Pit Bull, Rottweiler or even a Akita can be lovely pets if they are given love while a pup and not traumatised in its surroundings.

“Big dogs need good care, must come from a good gene line and trained to be sociable, so they are familiar with the people and its surroundings.

“The Selangor Veterinary Department and MPSJ should just get the owners to neuter the existing dog breeds as it is unfair to confiscate the animals,” she said.

- mD