THEY WANTED TO KILL ME

This Joburg man who survived a pit bull attack wants pet owners to be more responsible

- LESEGO SEOKWANG

THE dawn air was fresh and crisp and the roads free from people, traffic and noise when he set out on his early morning run. He was preparing for the Soweto Marathon and had planned a lengthy route through Benoni near Johannesburg.

But René Memmel was barely a kilometer into his run when he was stopped in his tracks by two pit bulls roaming the street.

“They approached me slowly – they didn’t bark or anything,” René tells YOU. “As soon as they came towards me, they lunged at me. The one mauled my thigh and the other one started ripping at my hand.”

The 38-year-old runner was terrified. He screamed to attract the attention of neighbours, while also trying to fight off the dogs.

He desperately swung at the dog that had his thigh trapped in its jaw, but the animal wouldn’t let go. Meanwhile, the dog that had latched on to his arm was now gunning for his neck.

“The one on my wrist was trying to pull me down. It started to jump and bit me on my chest. Luckily I’m tall, but it was painful. I remember telling myself that I needed to stay on my feet because if I fell to the ground I wouldn’t stand a chance. They were going to kill me,” he says.

A neighbour heard his blood-curdling screams and came to his rescue. The man managed to distract the dogs, giving René a chance to escape.

His injuries were so severe he was admitted to hospital where he underwent a three-and-a-half-hour surgery.