Dog attacks girl on Sentosa beach. Dad asks: Why dog allowed to roam free? Owner replies:
ONE minute, the 3-year-old toddler was walking towards her sister on the beach.
Mr Sail with his daughter Matilda, 3, who was attacked by a siberian husky on a Sentosa beach last Sunday. Picture: HEDY KHOO
T
he next, she was knocked to the ground by a siberian husky twice her size.
It lunged at her left ear, partly tearing it, drawing blood. It shook her, then released its grip only to bite her other ear and shake her again.
Her father, who saw the attack, managed to chase the dog away just as it put both front paws on her chest and appeared to be about to bite her throat.
What had begun as a happy outing for the family of five to Tanjung Beach at Sentosa last Sunday ended with Matilda Sail requiring surgery, under general anaesthesia, to stitch back her partially-torn ear.
She also had bite marks and bruises and stayed overnight at Mount Elizabeth hospital. The medical bill was $3,400.
Her father, fashion retailer Jamie Sail, 41, said he had been standing 20m from his daughter when the dog suddenly ran up and attacked her without provocation.
'My daughter was walking up to her sister at the beach and she wasn't screaming or making any noise,' he told The New Paper.
'I suddenly heard my wife scream and looked up to see this large siberian husky rush up to my daughter, knock her to the ground, bite her by her left ear and shake her. Then it went for her other ear, and shook her again.'
He said his heart nearly stopped when he saw the dog put both paws on her chest.
'It appeared to be about to bite her throat,' he said.
Mr Sail ran towards the dog and his shouts scared it away.
He carried Matilda to their car, followed by his wife, who had been nursing their infant daughter, and eldest daughter, 5.
After he applied first aid on his bleeding and crying daughter, Mr Sail wanted revenge.
'I was in a rage and I went back to the beach to look for the dog,' he said.
On the way, he picked up a stick the size of a baseball bat.
'I planned to kill the dog,' said Mr Sail, who was upset that the dog had been allowed to roam unleashed.
When he saw the dog standing behind two women, he tried to hit it several times.
He also demanded the dog owner's contact details and made her agree to send the dog to the vet immediately to check for diseases.
Said Mr Sail: 'The medical bill is secondary. What is important is what can be done to prevent such an incident from occurring to other people.'
He said he had seen several large dogs running on the beach unleashed that afternoon.
Said his wife, Jenny, 35, a retail manager: 'An hour before the attack, I saw a siberian husky running around.
'I noticed it only because I wondered what a siberian husky was doing in Singapore.'
According to her, a woman had called out to the dog several times, but it had ignored her.
'The dog was clearly not trained,' she said.
Mr Sail, an Australian who is a permanent resident here, said: 'When large dogs are kept in small flats, they can get over-excited when they get unleashed.'
'It is a beach. You have alcohol, people, children, and big dogs used to being cooped up walking around unleashed. It's a recipe for disaster.
'Dogs and dog owners have rights too, but owners of big dogs should be responsible for their dogs by training them and leashing them in public places.'
He said that Matilda, who was not scared of dogs and often played with his neighbour's Labrador, is now wary of them.
Mr Sail, who has lived here for 10years, added: 'I would be surprised if a dog that has attacked a child is not put down. It is dangerous.'
When contacted, the husky's owner, Ms Wendy Goh, said she was jobless and could not afford to foot the medical bill, but would contact Mr Sail to discuss the matter.
Ms Goh, who declined to give her age, said she lives in a flat in Marsiling.
She said she was unsure if her one-year-old dog was licensed as she had adopted it from a friend and she now wants to re-home it.
She has had the dog for only a month.
Ms Goh, who was crying over the phone, said: 'I'm not sure what happened. I don't think my dog would attack anyone. It just wanted to play.'
She was upset that Mr Sail had beaten it with a stick.
It was the second time she had taken her dog to Sentosa and let it go unleashed as it is not aggressive, she said.
She claimed she had been watching it, but had turned around for a moment.
Then, she heard people shouting that a husky wanted to kill a girl.
'I'm concerned for the girl and I sent my dog to the vet to ensure that it is free of diseases,' she said.
A Sentosa spokesman said that its beaches are meant to be enjoyed by all visitors, including those with pets.
She reminded all beach users to be civic-minded.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it was investigating the incident. It holds owners responsible for their pets' behaviour in public places.
Mr Madhavan Kannan, head of AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control, said the siberian husky is not among the breeds allowed to be kept in an HDB flat.
Under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, any person who is negligent with a ferocious dog without a muzzle can be fined up to$5,000.
If the dog has bitten, or tried to bite any person, a Magistrate's Court may order it to be put down.
taken:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...43969,00.html? 
