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The house in Sherwood where owner Allan Lorton was mauled to death by a neighbours dog.
Fearing for their lives, neighbours and bystanders could only watch in horror as a 65-year-old Durban pensioner bled profusely while a pit bull mauled him.
Allan Lorton, of Knight Road, Sherwood, died of his wounds on Tuesday.
His wife, Linda, 64, said her neighbours’ pit bull had crawled through a hole in the wall – possibly to attack her three Toy Pomeranians. She was at work at the time.
“My husband heard a commotion and went outside. The pit bull went for him and he tried to shake the dog off. He held it by its collar and got on his knees,” she said.
She said he screamed and screamed for help and the neighbours came running.
“He was bleeding profusely, but none of them could do anything because they were afraid the dog would attack them.”
All they could do was watch in horror, she said.
However, someone called the dog’s owner and the police.
“The owner came over and she could not stop her dog either. The police then arrived and fired shots in the air, trying to scare the dog off my husband.”
But the dog was unmoved and carried on attacking. Its owner then told the police to shoot it. It took eight shots before the animal died.
While they waited for an ambulance, which arrived an hour later, a neighbour who was a nurse did mouth to mouth, attempting to revive Lorton.
However, he had lost a lot of blood and died.
Paramedics certified him dead at the scene.
Linda added that the owner of the pit bull had taken her second pit bull to the SPCA to be put down.
“She has been supportive to our family and she put the other dog down because of what happened.
“She has children and she was worried about their safety, too.”
Linda said she and her family were distraught about her husband’s death.
The couple have an adult son, who declined to say anything.
Linda described her husband as an animal-lover and a kind person.
“He always took care of our dogs and took them for walks in the parks every day. He would play with them inside the house.”
Linda said her community needed to do something about pit bulls in the area.
“It is like a fashion statement to walk around with pit bulls. People are always walking around with the dogs and they do not realise how dangerous they are. Something must be done.”
Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said on Wednesday the Sydenham SAPS had gone to the scene on Tuesday.
“An inquest docket has been registered to investigate the circumstances surrounding Lorton’s death, while a criminal case docket has been registered to investigate the keeping of a ferocious dog.”
Charmaine van Rijsbergen, of the KZN Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club, told The Mercury yesterday that if the dog had been trained to attack then that is what it would do.
Asked what might have prompted the dog to go for Lorton, she said that was not an easy question to answer. It depended on how the owner had treated and raised the dog.
“I do not know the conditions that the dog lived in.
“It could have been provoked. The dog could have had a tumour.
“It is really unfortunate what happened to Mr Lorton.” - The Mercury
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Stormy44, wrote
Dont ban the breed, ban the deed! A dog is only as good as its owner! There is no such thing as a bad dog, only a bad owner! Dogs raised on discipline, love and structure will never attack. Its owners who raise their dogs to be aggressive, without love, without discipline...then this is the repercussion, and once again the poor dog breed will have to suffer for humans once again....no wonder I like animals more than I like humans...reading the comments below...pathetic.
Anonymous, wrote
My condolences to this family it must be a terrible thing to loose a family member in such a vicious manner. However that said I read all the comments below and have to say a lot of these come from a place of ignorance. Yes Pitbulls have a reputation, but so do Rottweillers, German Shepherd and evn the mean little cocker spaniel that you don't have anywhere near your children. I got my Pittbull when she was 6 weeks old, I raised her to be sociable by taking her for lots of walks in the park where she could socialise with other dogs and she was always in our house, not left outside to be a "Guard Dog", they need people around and don't like to be left out. When my son was born she was gentle with him and never showed any aggression until the day she died. Was I lucky, who knows, but I researched how to raise a pittbull and made sure that I did all the things that where recommended - And to Boldrock - Shame on you for the cruel way in which your father taught you to deal with an animal, hope one day someone puts glass in your steak, awful person you are
eisg, wrote
pitbulls should not be allowed in residential areas. Too many accidents happened , eish ...but people don't learn. The owner was also clearly irresponsible to allow a her dog to get through the fence. She should be charged with manslaughter.
BSL Not The Answer, wrote
Firstly my sincere condolences to the Allan Lorton's family. Breed Specific Legislation is not the answer. Banning a particular breed of dog won't solve the problem of irresponsible dog ownership. Pit Bulls were bred to be dog aggressive and not people aggressive. As with ANY dog however, if provoked it will attack a person. If its a Chihuahua ankle biting with fury its "funny". If its a 'power breed' like a Rottweiller, Pit Bull, Bull Mastiff etc ... its not so "funny". Any dog that attacks a person with such ferocity has been inappropriately trained and incorrectly handled (perhaps teased goaded) by someone - most likely its owner - repeatedly over a period of time. It's not the dog's fault, but the owner's fault 100%.
Tshepo, wrote
Why the hell did the police had to wait for the instruction from the dog's owner to shoot it? They were not at the shooting range waiting for instruction to fire.
Anonymous, wrote
ANY DOG HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A DANGEROUS DOG. I HAVE WORKED WITH AND TRAINED DOGS FOR MANY YEARS, AND QUITE HONESTLY I WOULD RATHER WALK INTO A KENNEL WITH A ROTTWEILER OR PITBULL, THAN A SCHNAUZER OR JACK RUSSEL. I'VE SEEN THEM BITE MORE PEOPLE THAN YOUR LARGER DOGS. BUT BECAUSE THEY DONT DO AS MUCH DAMAGE, NO-ONE MAKES A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT. I ALSO HAPPEN TO OWN A PITBUL AND CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT I HAVE NOT COME ACROSS A MORE LOYAL COMPANION. ITS ALL ABOUT SENSATION. "JACK RUSSEL BITES CHILD" DOESNT HAVE THE SAME RING AS " PIT BULL MAULS CHILD" GET OVER IT. IF YOU CANT KEEP YOUR ANIMALS SAFELY IN YOUR YARD, DONT GET ONE. OF ANY BREED!!
Analyst, wrote
I find this hard to believe. The dog was attacking the man, police fired a couple of shots in the air, the dog did not let go, and the police had to wait for the dog owner's permission to kill the dog? Why didn't they aim to kill the dog from the very start????
Anonymous, wrote
Pitbulls shouldnt be treated as pets. Those creatures are dabgerous. Most stories where someone has been mauled by a dog, it's often a pitbull. Some countries dont allow pitbulls as pets. Condolences to the family. This is so unfortunate.
Anonymous, wrote
These Dogs were bred for killing. You can not,( no matter how god a dog trainer you are) change what the dog was bred for. So to all you Killer breed owners, realise what you have and think about the consequenses of your ownership.Far too many have already suffered at the mercy of these breeds.....
Anonymous, wrote
Dont blame the breed, these dogs are innocent. Its the owners fault who abuse them by training them to be so aggressive and vicious ... to use them as a status symbol ... utter %^&*@#!!
Boldrock, wrote
My father who I was not always proud of but who's personal views I respected taught me something. A dog had terrorised the neighborhood for a while, much to the exuberance of the owner fool. On the dogs routine stints he happened to bite my calf of-course dad had to know. At the tender age of 8 he woke me in the early hours morning and silence of dark, on the sink lay a piece of thawed steak and beside it an empty bottle of Lion lager he had gulped the night before. A cloth and rock were the preferred tools, the fine glass was put in a carefully slit steak.It took 2 days but the end of Rex did come. Wish my late father had been a neighbor to Mr. Lorton
Anonymous, wrote
I am sorry every time a human being die due to an attack by a ferocious dog this and that will be done.Do away with these pitbulls and do not allow them to kepp them as pets.There are other breeds of dogs that have better dispositions .We should start a petition to bring the above to the attention of the public.
Anonymous, wrote
I personally feel that if you are a dog owner, you should have a secure, fenced up yard to keep your dogs in, which has no means of escaping due to the fact that there are alot of law abiding citizens who pass through streets, shorts cuts and are attacked by vicious dogs, lately there have being 3 incidents in less than a week with articles published on dog attacks, if its not rottweiler then its pitbulls.i have a friend whos son was attacked by a rottweiler on his face, i mean his only eight years old and now has to live with that fear for the rest of his life.It is really sad and people should notify the SPCA if they see dogs left unattended.
Michelle Alice Roberts, wrote
Our neighbour's pitbull attacked a pregnant neighbour while she was walking in the street, we all signed petitions and guess what? The neighbour still has 1 dog. Also, the dog then escaped and attacked our dog, killing him. Again nothing. To date, this arrogant prison warder thinks himself above the law, did not even approach us to apologise etc... and I believe there will be further tragedies so, as much as I am an animal lover I'm seriously contemplating if I shouldn't shoot the dog (and the owner) myself...In the meantime everyone should avoid Gail Road, Retreat -dangerous dog and owner there...
Anonymous, wrote
pit bulls are animals,they may be wonderful if trained well or they may be killers if provoked.the point remains that they are unpredictable,you cannot guarantee that they will never attack a person,and once they do,a persons life has been changed forever.thats like keeping a grenade on your lawn saying the pin is on,if you go near it it may go off but ive had it for 10 years and it hasnt gone off.PLEASE man,catch a wake up
Jess, wrote
To all the bleeding heart owners of vicious dog species which includes pitbulls, dobbermans, rotweilers & boerbulls, just as you have a right to owning these breeds of dogs so do others have the right to defend their loved ones! There should be a law against people owning these dogs if they cannot keep them in environments conducive to their temperaments. And even this is not a guarantee that they will not act unpredictably. Recently a family friend lost her 21 year old son when his own pitbull terriers turned on him and ripped out his throat. This young man was reared with these dogs, they always had this breed even before he was born and they always treated these animals like kings and what did it do...turned around and ate...yes ate..their only child! Sadly it was only then that they said they should have listened, it was though too late. People who insist on having these breeds of dog must ensure they have the liability cover that goes with it, because sure as heck somebody will be claiming! Let's hope it won't involve someone losing their lives.
Anonymous, wrote
Wow, you only have to look at this website and KNOW that pit bulls are NOT desirable dogs to keep: http:pit-bulls.christianfunfair.orgattacks.htm Wake up people!!!
zaloe, wrote
pit bulls are not pets and should be banned from neighbourhoods
Anonymous, wrote
Condolences to the family for their loss. Ive been reading through all comments. A dog will and wont change its way at all. Even if you take them for training, they will have a natural instinct of attacking, not just human beings, but anything that scares them. I was an owner of a pitbull who killed his friend(a cat). They grew up with each other, my dog went for training, end of the day i have to put my dog down. We must know, even though we love our dogs to death, they have an instinct that could be a danger to you.
Anonymous, wrote
WHY WAS THERE A WHOLE IN THE WALL IN THE FIRST PLACE WITH A DANGEROUS DOG LIKE THIS WHO MIGHT ATTACK THE NEIGHBOURS. PEOPLE NEVER LEARN UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS - HOW MANY BOERBULLS AND PITBULLS JUST SUDDENLY TURN ON THEIR FAMILYS AFTER MANY YEARS OF BEING WONDERFUL PETS NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS EVERYONES ATTITUDE AND THEY LOSE LOVED ONES
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