Durban: A Chatsworth man’s pregnant dog, that was allegedly stabbed by a neighbour, has lost three puppies.

Zamaan Khan, 37, of Crossmoor Drive, said his two pit bulls, Chloe, 4, and Lucifer, 2, were playing outside when the neighbour’s dog jumped the fence and fought with his pets earlier this month.

Khan, who works at Durban Security Services, had returned from work when he heard the dogs growling outside.

“I went outside and realised that the neighbour’s dog had jumped over the boundary fence. My mother and I managed to separate them. I then opened the front gate for the neighbour to take his dog and I went inside to wash up,” said Khan.

“About 10 minutes later, the neighbour’s son and brother-in-law jumped over the fence and threw stones at my car. I confronted them. I asked them what they were doing in my yard. One pulled out a knife, while the other attempted to hold me.”

Khan said got away and went inside to look for something to defend himself.

“But my mother locked the door because she did not want the problem to escalate. While looking through the passage window, we saw one of them stab Chloe. The other one beat and threw stones at her. They both carried her and threw her against the fence and continued to beat her. They then hopped over the fence to their yard.

“I activated the panic alarm to notify our security provider and the police were automatically contacted and notified. I think they called the people who rescued the dogs. We only went outside when they all arrived.

“Chloe was in so much pain. She could not even move. She had to immediately be taken to the vet. I couldn’t even kiss her. She gave birth a few minutes after she was stabbed. She had five pups but only two survived. I can’t imagine the pain she endured, which resulted in her giving birth a few weeks early.”

He said he had had Chloe for almost five years.

“She was eight months old when my friend gave her to me. Both my dogs are not dangerous or violent. I did not raise them to be harmful. I agree they are just dogs but they are part of our family.”

Debbie Holmes, a Durban dog rescuer, said her colleague arrived at the home first.

“I met the owner at the vet. When I saw the dog, she was traumatised. She sustained multiple stab wounds on the uterus and lacerations to her two front legs. For the dog, it wasn’t just the trauma that was caused by the attack, but also the trauma of the birth which followed. Her lacerations were too deep and vets had to give her an anaesthetic.

“We want people to realise the cruelty of this attack, not only on this pregnant dog but on any dog. The vets gave us a letter regarding the dog’s wounds. These will be handed to the SPCA and the police.”

Khan said Chloe was doing better and was feeding her two surviving puppies. He said he had lived next to his neighbour for about 15 years.

“I still cannot believe they have done this.”

The neighbour, Fatima Zahra Razak, 28, said:

“I don’t understand why Zamaan is playing the victim, while he is in the wrong. There were two previous incidents and in both of these, my two puppies were killed.”

She said in the recent incident, she and her family returned home after attending an event.

“My husband dropped me off at our driveway. As I opened the car door, Zamaan’s dog put his head over their fence and he tried to grab my three-year-old daughter who I was carrying. I acted fast and moved her away from the fence. The dog then grabbed my six month old puppy, Tiffany, from my yard and both Zamaan’s dogs attacked her.”

Razak said Zamaan and his mother came outside. To separate both of their dogs from attacking the puppy, Razak said Khan’s mother beat one dog (Lucifer), while Khan tried to pull the dog (Chloe) away.

She said her pup was injured and taken to the vet. Razak said Tiffany required surgery to her stomach, which they could not afford.

“Zamaan refuses to fix his fence or build a wall to prevent his dogs from hurting mine. I have lost two dogs from two previous incidents. My dogs are also my family. I am struggling to sleep as I can still hear them crying from pain.”

She said her brother was wrong for stabbing Chloe.

“He acted out of anger and we know we could have handled it better. I understand Zamaan’s pain. I have been there myself and I don’t wish it on anyone.”

Khan said he notified the SPCA and opened a case of malicious damage to property at the Chatsworth police station. Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said the matter was being investigated.

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