A young woman who was mauled by her neighbour’s pit bull says she wants him to pay for what happened to her.
Eileen Fredericks, 19, says when Bradley Swartz asked her to clean his home in Almond Street, Netreg, last month, she didn’t think she would end up nearly dead.
She says Bradley, who is wheelchair-bound, assured her she was safe from his dog, Trigger.
“It has been more than a month since the attack but it’s still as painful as that day,” explains Eileen.
“He asked me to go and clean his yard, which is what I normally do.
“I have told him before that I don’t want to go to his house if the dog is untied and that day he told me it was safe.”
But when she went inside the yard, the dog attacked.
“This was not the first time that the dog bit me. The last time it bit my vagina and thigh.
“And this time it bit my legs and arms, and scratched me on the chest,” she says.
“Bradley pushed me in a corner, while I was shouting for help and then finally someone came to my rescue.”
Eileen was rushed to hospital by her other neighbour.
“Bradley didn’t even give me money to go to the hospital. And we have to ask people to take me to hospital every time we go for a check-up.
“I would like him to pay my hospital bills and transport.”
Bradley tells the Daily Voice Trigger only bit those who provoked him.
“He would always remember when someone did something to him,” he explains.
“That day I asked Eileen not to bang the gate, just close it softly while the dog was inside the house.
“I was in my wheelchair by the door, and when she came in, the gate got stuck. And she kept pushing, the dog heard the noise and charged at her.”
Bradley says she was finally freed by his carer, and Trigger was later put down.
“I pulled the dog from her several times until the guy came and managed to help.
“I tried to support her and her family by going to the hospital and also giving her food.
“I had to put my dog down after the incident because I thought next time it could kill someone, and I couldn’t live with that.”
Police spokesman Sergeant Wesley Twigg says Bishop Lavis SAPS is investigating the matter with no arrests.