Boy mauled by fighting dog recovers in hospital

Fighting dogs on the loose attacked a group of Emirati boys playing in front of their houses in the city here on Saturday, injuring one severely, a source at Umm Al Quwain hospital told Gulf News Monday. Abdul Rahman Yousuf Abdul Rahman, a 13-year-old Emirati boy, was seriously injured when one of the dogs bit him at Umm Al Quwain's Al Shabia Al Baydha'a area, said Rashid Obaid Al Shehi, Deputy Director of the Umm Al Quwain Medical District. "Abdul Rahman was out with his friends when suddenly two dogs appeared and ran at the boys, chasing them when they ran away," Yousuf Abdul Rehman, the boy's father, said. "My son was the youngest in the group. One of the dogs caught up with him and bit him in the foot," the father said Article continues below Badly hurt Abdul Rahman said he tripped over some rocks and fell, enabling one of the dogs to catch him. It attacked him and badly hurt his leg. His friends returned and tried to rescue him by throwing stones at the dog. A group of Asian men, alerted by the commotion, also tried to free him, but the dog would not let go. "They started beating the dog with sticks but still it did not loosen its jaws clamped on the boy's foot. Finally one of them was able to loosen its grip and free him," added the father He claimed the dog, of a breed used for fighting, was not a stray but belonged to an Emirati man in the area. It was without a leash. The father called on the authorities to take action against people keeping such "wild dogs", and added his son might have been killed. The sight of the boys mangled left foot had distressed the family greatly, he said Al Shehi said the boy was admitted to the Umm Al Quwain hospital where a team performed a two-hour long surgery to fix the deep cuts he sustained during the attack. Al Shehi added the teenager was currently under observation in the hospital. "Tomorrow [Tuesday] I will transfer my son to Khalifa Hospital," the father said. Three such incidents have happened in the recent past and residents have expressed their displeasure about the lack of measures by the authorities to control stray animals. Strays seized An official at UAQ Municipality said that the civic body, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Services, has seized scores of stray animals in the emirate. The municipality has also imposed fines of Dh5,000 each on owners of animals found wandering loose for violating the law, added the official. The official said many motorists and other residents have also complained about the increasing number of stray animals on various streets, which posed a threat to public safety. "Animals sometimes roam the streets at night, which is very risky. Owners of these animals must be punished for being careless," the official said The UAQ Police recently reported that many accidents are caused due to stray animals. An official source at UAQ police said nearly 90 accidents were caused by stray animals in the emirate last year, He noted that although no fatalities were reported, many of the incidents left the victims badly hurt.