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Page 6 of 11
We were at the boat club one Monday night for a sailing section meeting, during the meeting Jarius one of the grounds-men came into the bar. He called me aside and said there were two armed men at the main gate. They insisted that if they were not allowed in they would shoot the Gate Security Guard. He asked what he should do, after some thought, I realized that I could not let them in. My family, were inside the club plus other people who could be harmed. I asked Jarius where the guard with the dog was, he said the guard has tied the dog to a tree and gone to the toilet. I knew the dog, Jan, I and the boys always made a fuss of him whenever we met the guard. I told Jarius to go back to the gate and when he heard me call to open it. I left the club by the front entrance which could not be seen from the gate. Then I walked quietly round the side keeping in the shadow of the building and the trees. I reached the dog unseen, spoke to him and then released him from the rope. I held him by his collar and called to Jarius, he opened the gate and I released the dog. What happened next was a nightmare! The dog hurtled across the ground and before the two men got through the open gate he attacked. There was such carnage, the like of which I had never seen. The first man was torn to pieces, his clothes were ripped off and he was mauled so badly that he died where he stood. The second man ran, but to no avail the dog caught him and once again the mauling he received was horrendous, I called and the dog came back, but it was too late. The second man was brought back by the staff, he was still alive but badly injured. He died in hospital the next day. Just as the second man was brought back, Jan appeared followed by the others who were at the meeting. The shouting and laughing made me feel sick, did they have no respect. I was by this time quite angry, they appeared to think what happened was some kind of show for their benefit. Then I flipped and told them to go inside where they were happy to stay while events took place, I did say more but nothing I care to repeat. Jarius and I went to find the weapons. What had happened just got worse, we found the weapons and they were wooden replicas. The police came and took statements, then arranged for an ambulance to take the men away. Two men died that night because of a decision I chose to make. I thought that when I let the dog loose it would behave in the same way a British Police Dog would. I was so wrong, the two men died and I have to ask myself if I could have handled the situation in a different way, whereby the men might still be alive. However I cannot change the past and so will have to live with the decision I made that night.
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