Medical experts have provided reasons why Aliyah Masaku was brutally attacked by Alsatian dogs in the care of her father.
According to a professional and a Veterinary Doctor, Dr. Femi Kolawole, it would be difficult to conclude on the actual cause of the attack on the girl by the dogs without knowing the history of the dogs to enable a Vertinary Doctor to tentatively diagnose what went wrong.
He explained that the dogs that people domesticate are carnivorous animals and that each breed of dogs have their own peculiarity (Genetic Character). He said that some breed of gods have short memory and they tend to forget the owner in a short while.
On the cause of the attack, Dr. Kolawole said that anger, agitation or untreated diseases could lead to a dog attack. His worlds, “the cause of the attack might be that the dogs were agitated beyond control and a disease like rabies could also cause the attack. It is very bad when people just keep dogs without caring for their welfare.”
Speaking further, he said that some dogs are trained to eat raw meat like dead chicken and freshly killed animals and because their taste buds and sense of smell are higher than that of humans, those actions are common with them.
Dr. Kolawole said that he was baffled by the breed of dogs that attacked the girl because, according to him, Alsatians are gentle breed and wild actions are common with the wild breed. He however, condemned the killing of the three dogs by the irate mobs and suggested that they should have been quarantined to enable veterinary Doctors investigate the cause of the attack by testing the dogs.
He said that even after they have been killed, some samples ought to have been taken to the laboratory for test. The vertirinary Doctor said that it would be difficult to get evidence that could support any fact regarding the cause of such a deadly attack since no sample was collected for test.
He advised dog owners to always treat their dogs as members of their families and should refrain from putting them in isolation just for security purposes.
You will recall that the story of Aliyah broke on Monday February 20, 2017 at Eruwen, Ikorodu when three Alsatian dogs attacked a five year old girl, Aliyah Masaku brutally devouring her face and other parts of her body. The incidence occurred when the father of the victim, Mr. WasiuMasaku, a vulcanizer, who was responsible for the care of the dogs went to buy food for them.
The owner of the dogs was said to be residing in the United Kingdom but sends money regularly to Mr. Masaku for the upkeep of the dogs. The victim was said to have been sleeping inside the house when one of the dogs, Rover broke out of the Kennel and dragged Aliyah from the room to the backyard where two other dogs were said to have joined in brutally attacking the helpless girl.
The father of the victim was said to have ben immediately alerted by neighbours when the cry of the girls became loud and endless. When help eventually came, she was rushed to Ikorodu General hospital where she was transferred to Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
The dogs were reported to have damaged her left eye, removed her tooth and inflicted other multiple injuries on her. Though, she was reported to have undergone minor surgery, she lost the battled to survive on Wednesday, February 22, 2017.
Angry residents in the area were said to have mobilized themselves and killed the three dogs responsible for the attack by 11p.m same day. They also threatened to burn down the house if the remaining dogs were not relocated from the community.
When the owner of the house and dogs was contacted on phone, he allegedly said that the people he left in charge of the dogs were responsible and not him because he was not in the country.
Oriwu Sun also gathered that on Thursday, February 23, 2017, officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Veterinary Service, visited the house and met the kennel empty. The officials according to report, said the gate of the house was opened but the premises was empty. And when the owner of the house was contacted on phone on the whereabout of other dogs, he said since there was nobody to take care of the dogs again, he decided to have them taken to Sagamu in Ogun State and didn’t give any further details.
The father of the victim and relatives however buried the victim on Friday, February 24, 2017.
Meanwhile, a resident of the area, Mrs. Remi Adebayo, confirmed the incident to our reporter when she visited the area. The woman who said she was not around when the incident occurred, explained that she saw a lot of people gathered at the frontage of the house around 6pm on that fateful day, while she was returning from work and that when she asked about what happened, she was told that thee dogs attacked a little girl who was living in the house and that she had been rushed to the hospital as she was battling to survive.
Furthermore, Mrs. Adebayo explained that around 11p.m the same day, some area boys came to the house, carrying sticks and cutlasses and started shouting as they attempt to force the gate to the house open and also threatened to burn down the house if the gate was not open.
She said when the gate was eventually opened, the boys descended on the three dogs that attacked Aliyah and killed them instantly, adding that several people came out