Less than a month ago, on the night of Friday, July 4, three dogs attacked and killed Jeffrey O’Brien, 23, a fisherman of Independence, and on Saturday evening, an eerily similar incident occurred, in which a senior citizen was attacked and mauled by four rottweilers.

The victim of the attack, Mckesson Garrett, 71, of Belize City, was bitten on the hands, arms, legs, and foot, and a piece of his nose was ripped off by the dogs. He is now admitted to ward at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering from the injuries.

The incident occurred about 4:30 on Saturday afternoon, at the home of Garrett’s friend at Mile 4 on the Philip Goldson Highway.

 

 

Garrett, who has served several years as Chairman of the Belize City branch of the Belize Ex-Services League, told Amandala that his friend had invited him to his house and had released the dogs in the yard. But after his visit, as Garrett was walking out of the yard, the dogs, without provocation, attacked him and began to bite him.

The attack occurred in the presence of Garrett’s friend, the owner of the dogs, but he was powerless to help Garrett, because he could not control the dogs.

Garrett tried to defend himself and took cover in a body of water that was in the yard, but the dogs waited for him to emerge so that they could attack him again.

While he had been in the water, Garrett had started to feel pain due to the numerous bites he had suffered.

At this point, however, Garrett’s friend managed to subdue them.

As a result of the attack, Garrett is now disfigured, and is experiencing pain due to the bite wounds he sustained all over his body. He had also lost his phone during the attack.

Garrett said that he is upset that his friend did not secure the dogs while he, Garrett, was visiting, and that his friend was unable to control the vicious animals during the attack. He wants to send a stern message to owners of vicious dogs that they must secure their dogs when they invite visitors to their homes, and they must have complete control over their animals.

Garrett wants compensation for his injuries, but says that his friend has not agreed to compensate him and/or cover his future medical expenses. He informed Amandala that he has contacted an attorney to seek a settlement for his serious injuries.

Police have not made a report on the matter as yet, even though the attack took place five days ago. It begs the question, why?