A dog mauled a 56-year-old man in such a savage frenzy it had to be beaten to death as it refused to let go of his face.
Daniel Abrahams of Scottsdene, near Kraaifontein, has more than 20 stitches on his face and body, a badly injured arm and no left ear.
Interviewed on Thursday, he was still seemingly in shock.
He said he was in pain but glad to be alive.
The dog attacked him on the premises of Anchore Paper Recycling in Brackenfell, the factory where he has worked for seven years.
Abrahams said he saw the dog lying outside the premises when he came out of the factory.
He thought it was a pit bull terrier. "I just walked on. I didn't call it or provoke it," said Abrahams, who said he was usually afraid of dogs.
He dumped rubbish into a waste bin. As he walked back to the factory, the dog attacked him.
It bit his left arm. When Abrahams fell to the ground, it savaged his face, biting off his ear and chewing into his cheeks.
According to Abrahams's niece, Millisen Asia, another worker used an iron rod to kill the dog, which had locked his jaws and would not let go.
His sister, Isabelle Asia, said: "There are people who know who the owner of that dog is, but they will not come forward."
Brackenfell police Inspector Erica Cooke said the dog appeared to be a stray. If an owner was found, he would be charged with assault.
Abrahams was taken to Kraaifontein Day Hospital and transferred to Tygerberg Hospital, where he was kept overnight for observation.
He has to return to the Kraaifontein Day Hospital every day for a clean dressing.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Chief Inspector Shaun Bodington said pit bulls were bred for their aggressive tendencies.
Keeping and breeding them had increased sharply over the past five years, especially on the Cape Flats.
"People are using the dogs as a status symbol and we suspect that they are using them for fighting as well."
- A KwaZulu-Natal dog breeder is fighting for his life after he was mauled by his own pitbull terriers at the weekend.
Charles Murray, 48, of Margate on the South Coast had to have his left leg amputated.
He also sustained serious injuries to his neck, stomach, arms and legs, and had broken ribs and bones.
Murray was working on his car when the vehicle, which was on supports, suddenly toppled and fell on him.
While he was pinned under the car, the four dogs attacked him.
A neighbour, Rod Myburgh, rushed to his rescue, but was unable to beat them off and they turned on him.
Murray's wife pulled her husband's pistol out of his hip holster and shot and wounded two of the dogs.
The police dog unit shot dead two of the dogs and the other two were put down at the SPCA.