Don't Put The Dogs To Sleep Says An Activist Group

Dogs that mauled tourist shouldn't be put to sleep (Updated The Star)

By TAN SIN CHOW and ANN TAN

GEORGE TOWN: Don't put the dogs to sleep.

This is the view of Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan, who felt the canines can be rehabilitated.

She said the dogs that mauled Irishman Maurice Sullivan to death at an organic farm in Teluk Bahang, near here, on Sunday should not be blamed for the incident.

"The public must try to understand why the dogs behaved in such a ferocious manner.

"Was this a result of their training? Or was it related to how they were being kept?" she asked when contacted here Monday.

The two dogs, both mongrels, have been placed at the Balik Pulau veterinary department for observation.
State Veterinary Department director Dr Wan Mohd Kamil Wan Nik said they would monitor the canines for 10 days to check if they had any dangerous disease such as rabies.

A team comprising 10 officers and policemen picked up the two-year-old dogs, a male and a female, from the organic farm in Teluk Bahang at about 2pm.

Meanwhile, Penang Hospital senior consultant pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh said Sullivan, 50, died of severe haemorrhage.

He said there were multiple bodily bites, especially on the limbs, head and neck of the deceased.

"There were laceration wounds on his jaw and left neck. His left face and both ears were also torn off," he told reporters after conducting a three-hour post mortem at the Penang Hospital mortuary here.

Here is the original report:

Monday January 10, 2011

Tourist dies in dog attack

By TAN SIN CHOW and ANN TAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: An Irish tourist died after he was attacked by two dogs at an organic farm in Teluk Bahang, about 25km from here.

The ears of Maurice Sullivan, 50, were bitten off and his chin was almost torn off in the attack which occurred at about 10am yesterday.

He also suffered bites on his body.

Cruel twist: Jablonska having difficulty accepting the death of Sullivan (inset) Sunday.

The cause of death has not been determined as it is learnt that the victim could have suffered a heart attack because of the trauma.

Sullivan, a volunteer helper, had gone to the farm with his 28-year-old Polish friend Agnieszka Jablonska to photograph organic plants there.

Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain said Jablonska had then walked to another part of the farm to take photographs of plants, leaving Sullivan alone before the attack.

“We are investigating why the canines attacked Sullivan,” Supt Mohd Hatta said, adding that the case was now classified as sudden death.

Jablonska, who works as a welfare home caretaker in Ireland, said Sullivan was visiting Penang as a voluntary environmentalist.

Turned against man: One of the dogs that had bitten Sullivan at the farm.

“He invited me to join him. We had earlier visited Grik in Perak and Pahang before arriving here,” she said.
Jablonska said they had known each other for 10 years and dated for a few years.

“I arrived in Malaysia on Nov 11 and was scheduled to leave on Feb 11. Maurice had been here since August.

“I do not want to stay here any longer. I want to leave immediately,” she said.

A post-mortem will be carried out at the Penang Hospital by senior consultant forensic pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh at 9am today.
 

Monday January 10, 2011

Farm owner to surrender dogs to Veterinary Dept

GEORGE TOWN: The owner of two mongrels that attacked an Irish tourist is willing to surrender the canines to the state Veterinary Department today.

The owner, who was only identified as Teoh, said it was the right thing to do.

“Although it is sad that they may need to be put to sleep, it is the right thing to do. I will also help the victim’s friend to contact his family and to assist in the funeral arrangement,” he said yesterday.

Teoh said the canines were fed with dog biscuits instead of meat as he did not want them to be aggressive.
He said his wife saw two of their four mongrels – a male and a female – attack Maurice Sullivan, about 50m from their house.

“My wife saw Sullivan trying to escape but the two dogs chased after him. They bit his ears, hands and legs. She tried to pull the dogs away but to no avail,” he said, adding that his wife suffered light injuries on her fingers and legs.

The 41-year-old farm owner said Sullivan, whom he only met 24 hours earlier, had played with the dogs on Saturday.

He said they had been rearing the dogs for two years and always kept them in the cage after being fed in the
morning.

Describing the male one as friendly and the female dog as shy, Teoh said they started rearing the dogs to look after the farm because of wild boars and pythons in the vicinity.

Penang Municipal Council public health standing committee alternate chairman Tay Leong Seng said its enforcement personnel were investigating the reasons behind the attack and whether the owner was licensed to rear the dogs.

“Under our new bylaws, an owner can be fined RM2,000 to RM3,000 but this has yet to be gazetted. So, under our 1977 provision, we will only have the authority to catch the dogs and put them to sleep after conducting an investigation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penang SPCA administrator Lily Leng said it was rare to see a human being bitten to death by dogs.

“Unless the dogs have rabies or are attacked, they are usually tame,” she said.


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