On April 8th, one of our doubles was attacked in the 14th district. An unattended greater dog rushed at Veres Katalin and her guide dog. The wound on Zenit’s ear had to be sutured. He’s been to the scene of the attack several times since then and is not yet over the shock. Our Trainers are working with him and we hope he’ll get better soon.

At 7.40 am near the intersection of Csömöri and Miskolci Street, Katalin was on her way to school with her two children, when a Rottweiler-like dog attacked them. Despite the rough scene, the guys did not let Zenit alone, but they got the dangerous animal under control. Thanks to their courage, no major damage happened. In the following, Veres Katalin describes in detail what happened.

“I was taking my two sons to the school for the visually impaired when a Rottweiler-like dog ran up to us, first sniffing my guide dog, then suddenly attacking, tearing Zenit hard. The 14- year-old Barna jumped there to help, the wild animal tried to bite him too, but he managed to get behind him, and he pulled him off my guide dog by the collar. While Barna held him on with all his might, 11-year-old Agost led Zenit across the zebra to get him away from the attacker hoping he calmed down.

I was in a panic, that’s all I could think of but luckily it worked because he calmed down, we were able to put him on a leash and lead him back to the garage where he probably ran into us. There, to our surprise, they didn’t react. We were helpless because we couldn’t take him to my dog, who was covered in blood. He would have attacked him again, so we had to leave him there. All we know is that he didn’t stay there, he ran out into the road and disappeared.

Terrifying violence

Zenit was badly injured and had to have his ear stitched up. It’s terrible what he’s been through. My two sons saved his life, it is better not to think about what would have happened if they weren’t with me. Ágost is partially sighted, that means he can see more than me. I am almost blind. Barna can see well, fortunately, he was with us since they are going to the same school. A dog attack of this severity strikes even a sighted person unexpectedly, not to mention a visually impaired one. Imagine how you would bear, eyes closed, the terrifying violence, the growling, snarling sound, the sheer force yanking the dog away, the impossibility of any action, the fear. It’s a state of shock.

Barna said that the dog came out of the auto repair shop, ran across the street, sniffed people until the intersection, and then went back towards the bus stop. He ran across the road to us and that’s when the attack happened. He might have been dropped off, he might have escaped from a leash, he might have come out through an open gate, we don’t know. He had no dog tag, only a collar. He was in trouble, I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to help him.

Surgery

As soon as I could, I called 112. I recovered quickly, thankfully. The officer asked if I wanted to report this because an offense was committed. I understand that the owner is responsible for the dog even if he’s not at the scene. On the phone, I was told to go to the police station. Of course, they didn’t come out, which wasn’t very friendly of them, but it didn’t shake me, because I had to take care of my dog.

In the school of my sons, they gave me some gauze pads to stop the bleeding, but it wasn’t enough for the deep wound. After asking around, I learned where to find the nearest vet and how to get there by bus. We set out for there. His shattered ear was bleeding continuously, he guided me in this state, he marked every sidewalk, every staircase. He is a wonderful companion. He helped me so that I could help him too. The vet gave him medicine, but they couldn’t have stitched up the wound right away, so we went on to the College of Veterinary Medicine. He was stitched up in anesthesia, given painkillers, and I don’t even know how it was decided, who should drive who, because he was a little dazed. We guided each other solidly.

Police did not help in a meaningful way

Unfortunately, I could not give Zenit a rest after that. We went to the police station in Zugló, and then I had to go back to school because of my older child’s further education.

The police were important to me because I could not let the case go. Is it okay for a visually impaired person to be exposed to a dog attack that could happen again the next day because no one does anything? I was compassionate because I have a right not to feel my physical integrity is in danger while I am going anywhere with my guide dog. And I admit I was scared on the street.

A police officer came out and said that since there was no personal injury, there was no need to report it, which is the opposite of what was said during the phone conversation. He added – still standing in the street, because he had not invited me in – that we should have called for a dogcatcher and written to the notary. The latter was done, in which I asked for extra attention in this area to be paid due to the proximity of the school for visually impaired children.

Of course, the dogcatcher is not so simple. Who, from where, while I was rescuing my dog? – I preferred not to waste time discussing such questions. All the more so, because I have had some similar experiences with police officers, and I’ve found that they are particularly reluctan to deal with visually impaired complainants, because the complaint should be recorded with two witnesses and a video footage, which they try to dissuade us from doing. Shall we say they are not technically equipped to do this, when I could do it myself with a mobile device at any time?

Fear on the street

I don’t want to take the story in that direction, because it’s even more disturbing to have a dangerous dog on the loose. Perhaps the police could have done something so that I could leave the next day with confidence, not with the fear that we would find it there and it would attack us again. Since we had to get to school, we could only rely on our chance. I asked my older child to watch the streets. When we got to where the attack happened, Zenit started back, stopped guiding me on the sidewalk, started pulling me off the sidewalk towards the roadway, watching if the attacker was coming from the same direction as the day before.

Of course, we stopped. I set him at ease. He wanted to avoid that part; he was clearly experiencing the trauma of the attack. But what we feared did not happen this time, the attack was not repeated, we went to the school for the visually impaired, then to my workplace, where Zenit relaxed near me in peace and quiet.

Comforting news

Fortunately, I don’t see him being scared of anything while he’s guiding, but we will find out later if he is afraid of dogs. I hope everything stays the same. He can’t protect me from dangerous dogs on the loose though, all dog owners should bear this in mind, please. And to the police I ask for a greater heart, disabled people don’t deserve special rights, it would be enough to ensure their own rights and actually do something for their safety.”

Agreeing with Katalin’s words, our professional manager Piroska Komondi pointed out important practical steps: “The assessment of the consequences of the attack is in progress. Our trainers are checking how his relationship to other dogs changes, how he’ll behave on the scene of the attack, since the bad experience there is still living in his mind. At the moment we are confident because Zenit is leading Kata nicely and confidently.”