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Port Elizabeth - A Port Elizabeth resident's left arm has been amputated after he was attacked by two pit bulls.
The unidentified man was attacked in Rowallan Park on Saturday afternoon, Netwerk24 reported.
"The police fired three warning shots to scare the dogs away from the man," said police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu.
Sizwe Kupelo, a spokesperson for the Eastern Cape department of health, said the man, who is in his 50s, had undergone an emergency operation at Livingstone Hospital on Saturday to stop the bleeding.
He added that the man was still in critical condition in the hospital's ICU on Sunday.
"His left arm was badly injured and had to be amputated."
Naidu said another resident was bitten when he tried to get the dogs off the injured man.
Dogs confiscated
"The owner of the dogs apparently wasn't home during the incident," she said.
More details around the incident were not yet available.
The dogs were confiscated by the police and handed over to the city's Animal Welfare Society (AWS).
Marizanne Ferreira, who rescues animals and works closely with AWS, visited the dogs on Sunday morning.
"Both wagged their tails in greeting, but also seemed stressed because of the strange environment."
According to Ferreira, the male dog was not in a good condition. He had a skin disease (probably mange) which needed urgent attention.
It was still not clear what was going to happen to the dogs, but Ferreira said it would be better to put them down, rather than keep them in a cage any longer.
"I won't be able to find a new home for the dogs, because we don't know why they attacked."
Ferreira said she's been working almost daily with dogs used for fighting for the past six years, and people shouldn't think this behaviour is the norm.
"Dogs who are treated like ornaments become aggressive. Dogs need attention and need socialising as well as being sterilised on time."
