PECHS man sets dogs on 4 sleeping men

A man walking his dogs in PECHS set his dogs on four people sleeping on the street.

Dewan, who was taking an evening stroll in block six, Ferozabad, with his two dogs, allegedly unleashed his pets and watched them attack the four men. All four, Haji Ahmed, his son Dilshad, Muhammad Madni and Muhammad Taib, were taken to Jinnah hospital in a critical condition.

The men, labourers by profession, were sleeping on the roadside because there was no electricity in their homes and rising temperatures had made their cramped spaces unbearable in the night. They told The Express Tribune that they live in a rented house.

They were woken up by the animals barking and biting them. Their shouts caused a crowd to gather, and help beat the dogs away and also catch      their owner, Dewan.

The men were treated at Jinnah hospital by the head of the casualty ward, Dr Seemin Jamali. According to her, they were injured quite badly and had to be given antibiotic injections.

A person bitten by a dog is likely to catch rabies, a virus that can enter the bloodstream and cause hydrophobia, a crippling fear of water and even light, Dr Jamali said.

“Rabies treatment is very expensive in private hospitals,” she said, adding that it could cost up to Rs30,000 in treating the disease. Three of the victims were discharged while one is still admitted at the hospital.

According to Ferozabad police station, an FIR has been filed against Dewan.

Published  in the Express Tribune, June 1st, 2010.