Girl hurt in K9 attack

MANILA, Philippines - Authorities were urged to strictly regulate K9 operations and improve the training of their handlers to protect the public, after a bomb sniffing Belgian Malinois attacked an eight-year-old girl in the Maxim’s Hotel and Casino in front of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Sunday afternoon.

The father of the Grade 2 pupil of Saint Theresa’s College in Quezon City came forward yesterday, as he plans to file a case against the hotel, which purportedly owns the dog.

According to Jose Andres Diaz, regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region (DENR-NCR), they were on an outing to relax and enjoy when the unfortunate incident occurred. Diaz said the K9 suddenly attacked his daughter, who consequently suffered lacerations and puncture wounds at the buttocks. He said that if not for their quick response to shield his daughter from further attacks, the dog could have bitten her in the head and neck.

Diaz related that the painful cry of his panic-stricken child startled casino guests and players, while the “inadequate” hotel first-aid facility tried in vain to stop the profuse bleeding of his daughter. He likewise expressed disgust that, as revealed in video clips of the attack from the hotel security camera, the handler of the dog showed a “lax attitude and inexperience.” He said that the dog handler was seen story-telling with other guards when the incident occurred and was not able to effectively restrain or control the dog.

The child was subsequently rushed to the Makati Medical Center, where she underwent medical and psychological treatment.

However, Diaz told The Star that his daughter was brought anew to the hospital, this time at St. Luke’s Medical Center, due to fever and inflammation of the bite wounds. “We really need strict regulation of K9 operations here in our country in order to protect the public,” Diaz stressed. “The training of K9 handlers and their operation have to be improved thru proper accreditation to ensure public safety and trust and weed out fly by night K9 operations.”

“Immediate action must be done to muzzle these attack dogs to give the public peace of mind,” he also said.

Diaz asserted that public health advocates and animal welfare groups have long been critical of the use of attack dogs to detect explosives, especially in public places, which is a common practice in the country.

He noted that gentle and smaller breeds like Retrievers and Terriers are being used effectively in the United States and Australia and lamented over the usual sniff K9 dogs being used in the Philippines, which are usually of breeds like German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, and Dutch Shepherd.

Diaz said that German Shepherd, Belgian Mallinois, and Dutch Shepherds are dogs that are known to viciously attack humans, as they are notoriously used to terrorize detained suspects in Iraq and Guantanamo.