by Miriam G. Desacada
Tacloban City–Ears ripped off, flesh from his buttocks torn to pieces, and various parts of his face and body savaged with multiple bite injuries, were the tragic outcomes suffered by a two-year-old boy who was unexplainably attacked by four ferocious dogs at Barangay Timbangan in Calbiga, Samar Sunday afternoon (March 10).
The juvenile victim is now in critical condition at the Samar Provincial Hospital, while the dogs that went wild with violence were said to be owned by a barangay resident and made to guard his farm.
Initial police investigation stated that the mother left the boy to his grandmother because of some errands. But the grandmother, who was also taking care of an infant, in one swift moment overlooked her grandson who quickly went out of the house, supposedly to find his mother.
As the boy went astray to the place where the dogs were, he got mauled by the angry dogs, bitten off furiously without let off until barangay tanods saw the incident and quickly ran to the boy’s rescue.
According to the police, the dogs are being closely monitored at this time, considering that these had no prior anti-rabies vaccines. Should anything more serious happens to the boy, the dog’s owner may be held liable.
Meanwhile, the owner of the dogs reportedly assured the boy’s relatives that he will shoulder the hospital expenses and whatever treatment the victim may need. —Miriam G. Desacada