Another jogger attacked by Punggol’s stray dogs
A 35-year-old jogger became the latest victim of a dog attack at the new Punggol Waterway Park, five days after another jogger had been similarly attacked, according to The New Paper.
Bank executive Chow Cheok Kai told TNP he was attacked by a pack of nine stray dogs during one of his weekly jogs in the area on 19 December.
Despite trying to walk away from the pack, a few dogs bit him on the leg. He was later administered with a tetanus shot and given antibiotics, the paper reported.
Yahoo! Singapore has contacted the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for comments but has yet to receive a reply. It is understood that AVA has been carrying out control operations in the park since September.
Meanwhile, president of Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) Ricky Yeo called for balance in tackling the issue of stray dogs. He said there should not be a knee jerk reaction and that the public should not go on a “witch hunt” based on recent reports of dog attacks.
He noted that some dogs are timid and usually shy away from the public. However, if public safety is compromised, dogs seemed threatening to residents should be removed, he added.
Yeo told Yahoo! Singapore that his group has been in talks with AVA over a framework to manage the stray dog population although nothing is concrete. But the authorities, he said, have been receptive to constructive feedback.
He also said that ASD has been working with stray feeders to help sterilize the dogs, which he said is a key long-term solution to tackle the problem. Yeo highlighted that as dogs grow in size, they form packs and develop more courage to approach the public.
The latest attack came five days after a female student suffered a similar fate. Alicia Tay, 20, said she was jogging on the evening of 14 December when a pack of strays hounded her, reported Channel NewsAsia. She managed to escape after her screams scared the dogs away, leaving her with a few scratches and bites.
Should members of the public encounter stray dogs, they are advised to remain calm, slow down and walk away in a different direction.
