Durban - A pet chihuahua died from its wounds after being snatched then dropped from 10m by a crowned eagle in Montclair on Tuesday.
The bird of prey grabbed the dog from a home in Glen Road at around 10am and dropped it a street away on to a property in Bredell Place.
A resident took the dog to the nearby Wood Road Animal Hospital, where it died at around 4pm.
Willie Kleynhans, 64, said his chihuahua, Jackie, was playing with a lizard under an avocado tree around 10am when the eagle swooped down and grabbed it.
“It was a grey and black-coloured eagle with a wide wing span. I tried to follow its flight path but it had already elevated and flew over the houses,” said Kleynhans.
“I assume Jackie bit the eagle, which caused it to drop the dog.”
While he was trying to locate the dog, his daughter Adri received a message on her phone from social network sites at around 11am saying that a chihuahua had been found after being dropped by an eagle.
Adri said she phoned the hospital to confirm if it was Jackie. She then contacted her mother, Bets Kleynhans, to have her describe Jackie to the vet.
Adri said she visited Jackie at 1pm.
“She was receiving treatment. Jackie was making unusual noises,” she said.
“I could see she was in pain. She was given oxygen and had a drip. She had severe injuries and died around 4pm.
“I had to break the news to my daughter, Jelaine, six, who then became inconsolable.”
Dr Laura Roux of Wood Road Animal Hospital said this was the first incident of its kind that she had heard of in Montclair and surrounding areas.
Roux said a client came in with the wounded dog.
“The dog suffered punctures on both sides of the chest and leg,” she said.
“We gave it our best treatment, including medication and shock treatment. Unfortunately it succumbed to its injuries.”
Roux advised residents living near nature reserves and forests to keep smaller pets indoors as a precaution.
She said it was strange for the eagle incident to happen in a built-up area.
Roux said it could have been a juvenile eagle trying to establish a hunting strategy, adding that the eagle would not differentiate between a dog and another type of prey.
An emotional Jelaine said she still had a Staffordshire terrier named Joey and an African grey parrot, Pollie, as pets.
It was the second animal tragedy in recent times at the Kleynhans household.
A neighbour’s dog killed another of their chihuahuas - also named Jackie - two years ago. The dog had leapt through an opening in the fence after mistaking Jackie for a rat.
Adri said Jackie II would be cremated today.
Meanwhile, Kleynhans said he would be heading to the nearest library today to conduct some research on eagles.
LMAO!
