A VICIOUS mauling by two pit bulls and a boerboel cross-breed has claimed the life of a much-loved KwaZulu-Natal South Coast florist.
Appal Naidoo, 82, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday after a two-month fight to live.
His wife Kanna, 79, and daughter Shanda, 48, were also attacked in the driveway of their Albersville, Port Shepstone home on January 3 when they went to his aid.
Naidoo was badly bitten by his neighbour’s dogs - his face was disfigured, his jaw broken and limbs and torso mauled.
Kanna had to undergo surgery to repair a crushed leg bone from a deep bite she received from one of the dogs, and Shanda had six hours of surgery for 24 dog bites she received to her hands and legs.
“For months dad struggled with his health. It was always up and down and he was in ICU a lot,” said Shanda.
“For the first few weeks he was at the Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (in Durban) and from the day he was admitted he was on a ventilator until January 29, which was his and my mother’s 57th wedding anniversary, when dad first opened his eyes.
“On the night before he passed away . . . we spent quite a while with him. But we were never prepared for the call we received the next morning.”
Naidoo had been eagerly looking forward to the eldest of his 10 grandchildren getting married later this year.
“He fought until the very end but his injuries were too severe. He held on for so long because of us, but he was in immense pain,” Shanda said.
“My dad touched the lives of many people, not just because of who he was but for the work he did for the community.”
His nephew, Morgan Naidoo, said: “My uncle was a hard-working, committed, honest and compassionate man. He always taught us all to be honest and work to the best of our ability.
"He was truly amazing in the sense that he loved doing community work. He did not belong to one organisation, rather he did all kinds of community things. He picked people up and encouraged them to stand on their own or to help make a difference.
“He is known as a florist but even with his business, depending on a person’s situation, he would either charge them cost price or do the job for free because that’s the kind of heart he had.
“But what inspired me most about him is that he was academically inclined; he completed the highest standard he could here in Port Shepstone at the time (Standard 5).
"Determined to study further, he left home for a brief period to study at a school in Stanger were he completed Standard 8.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of keeping a vicious dog is being investigated.
“Police have also opened an inquest docket and once investigations are complete, the docket will be taken to the prosecutor.”
The owner of the dogs, which were put down, declined to comment.
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