Police are investigating after a Northshore man shot his neighbour’s pit bull that he says was moments away from killing his sister’s dog.
The incident has split the community, according to a resident who does not want to be named for fear of victimisation.
Carla Curtin, the owner of the 8-year-old pit bull, Bella, has moved to George to be with her sister, saying the killing of her dog has left her distraught.
The shooter, one of Ms Curtin’s neighbours, Steven Pretorius, told Sentinel News on Monday, prior to giving a statement at Hout Bay police station, that he had not been sleeping or eating since the incident on Monday March 20.
His sister, who stays in the same house on his property, declined to give her name, saying she feared for her life and that of her 6-year-old child as she had received death threats and had had eggs thrown at her home following the incident. She said her dog had been protecting the property and family and now had multiple bite wounds on its head and neck and a swollen trachea.
Rodger Gibb, who lives across the road from Mr Pretorius and was walking Bella at the time of the shooting, said he had walked the pit bull daily for the past six weeks and had never had a problem. He declined to comment further.
According to Mr Pretorius, his sister’s French bulldog and dachshund had been playing with a ball in his yard. When it got stuck on the outside of the fence, he opened the gate to fetch it. The pit bull got out of its harness and ran towards the bulldog to sniff in the driveway. A fight broke out, and the dog walker kept hitting the pit bull with a stick, sometimes falling over and struggling to get up. Mr Pretorius hit the dog with a ball catcher.
“It was a stressful seeing my sister’s dog’s neck being crushed so I took the decision to protect it,” he said.
Lise Vermeulen, who lives across the road, said all the neighbours had run into the road after hearing the first shot.
It was about five minutes later, she said, that she had seen Mr Pretorius fire a second shot.
She said he had pointed the gun at Bella’s head as the dog had lain in the gutter twitching and fired. He had then washed the driveway of blood and placed Bella in a black bag.
Mr Pretorius told Sentinel News he could not leave the bloody mess on the driveway.
A friend of Mr Pretorius’s, who lives nearby but did not witness the incident, said he had posted Mr Pretorius’s version of events on social media because he had been “demonised“ and had received death threats.
The friend told the Sentinel that the fight was filmed on a nearby security camera and the police now had the footage, but Hout Bay police chief Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Syster, while confirming that the case was being investigated, said he was unaware of any such footage.
Belinda Abraham, spokeswoman for the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, said no autopsy had been done on Bella, leaving the family without recourse as there was insufficient evidence of animal suffering to stand up in court.
Such incidents should be reported to the SPCA immediately so it could help to file charges, she said, adding that anyone found guilty of contravening the Animals Protection Act could be sentenced to a maximum fine of R40 000 and/or 12 months’ imprisonment.
Report animal cruelty cases to the SPCA at 021 700 4158/9 or 083 326 1604.
