Last Monday?a woman and her mother had to run for cover when a pit bull chased them along the main road at Kingsland, Christ Church.
The woman, who is still terrified to walk that road, said she strongly believed the dog was one of the pit bulls that viciously attacked Kingsland resident Deborah Darlington three months ago.
The 28-year-old woman, who did not want to reveal her identify but who also resides at Kingsland, Christ Church, said she suspected the black pit bull, which had a collar around its neck, belonged to dog owner Jamal Batson because she saw it coming from through Jasper Avenue, where Darlington was also attacked.
Since the incident, both she and her mother have used a different road but they want to know why the authorities have not done anything about the pack of pit bulls owned by Batson.
Recalling the incident, the woman said she and her 49-year-old mother were walking along the road just after 6 a.m. as they were accustomed doing every morning to get a bus travelling to Bridgetown.
“When we got halfway along the road we saw a black, greyish pit bull coming out of Jasper Avenue running towards us. All we could do was run and jump onto an old truck which was parked in front of a mechanic’s house. We were scared because there was no place else to run and we were the only people on the street.”
She said it was at that moment that a man exited a shop, saw what was happening and started to throw rocks at the dog.
“The dog turned around and headed back to the Jasper Avenue area,” she said.
The woman said a minibus then drove along the gap and she and her mother quickly flagged it down and got on.
“We were so scared that we did not even thank the guy who threw the rocks at the dog,” she said.
She explained that as soon as she arrived at work she contacted the police at Oistins Police Station to report the incident, but added that she was disappointed with the response she received.
“The officer who answered the phone said there was nothing that they could do unless they went to the area and saw the dog attacking someone.”
She said she was shocked at that response and contacted the Animal Control Unit, but she was informed that that agency had no authority to remove the animals.
“I?know that there is a high level of dogfighting that goes on in Kingsland and there is a lot of money and people involved, but these dogs are dangerous,” she cried.
“I?felt so bad when the police told me that there was nothing that they could do. I was scared. I was frightened – what happened to that lady just flashed back before me and if that man was not there to help us we don’t know what would have happened to us,” she said.
When informed about the incident and the woman’s concern that it was one of his animals, Batson said that there were other pit bulls in Kingsland other than the ones he owned. He added that ever since the incident with Darlington people were pointing fingers at his dogs.
“The black dog that attacked Miss Darlington has died and all of my animals have gotten small and look really bad. I?don’t know what is wrong with them, but I keep them tied in the back,” he said.
As to his black pit bull, which wears a collar around its neck and is allowed to freely roam the neighbourhood, Batson described him as a harmless dog that was afraid of people and “does not interfere with anyone”.
