He walked for hours to the vet with his injured dog that was allegedly stabbed during an attempted break-in.

Lucky Joseph Machwisa, 44, from Lomanyaneng near Mahikeng, North West, was determined to get help for his pooch, Jita, at any cost – a deed Lucky was praised for in social media by the local SPCA this past week.

"I think these people were trying to break into my house," he tells us. "This place is dangerous and it’s not a nice feeling."

He says criminals would usually kill the dog to get to the owner.

"The dogs not only become your friend but also your alarm."

But fortunately, Lucky, who’s a contract worker, was working night shift on Friday last week when the incident reportedly happened.

"Her feet couldn’t carry her anymore. I think she lost a lot of blood"

When he returned home from his shift, he was greeted by blood on the doorstep of his shack.

"Initially I thought it was human blood and that someone probably ran to my house to seek help."

A few moments later, Lucky realised it was Jita that had been injured.

"I know that when she sees something suspicious she usually runs to the door to protect me," he explains.

"And that’s when they probably stabbed her."

The dog owner tried walking to the SPCA in Mahikeng with his badly wounded canine.

"I think we walked for about two hours because Jita was just battling. We had to take it slowly," Lucky recalls.

But Jita was getting weaker so Lucky borrowed a wheelbarrow along the way just get to the medical centre.

"The dog was on the ground," he recalls.

"Her feet couldn’t carry her anymore. I think she lost a lot of blood."

Jeanette Esterhuizen, who volunteers at the SPCA, was called by another member for help because she has a bakkie.

They then drove to a private veterinary surgeon Dr Nonki Moitsi.

A flesh wound

Moitsi believes Jita was stabbed or hit with a sharp object.

"It was midway in the spinal area and it was a big gash I had to stitch."

Fortunately, it didn’t go all the way into the deeper muscles.

"It was more of a flesh wound."

But he says the impact still caused a spinal injury.

"That’s why there was a bit of lameness at the back."

The vet, who described the incident as sad, gave the dog medication before sending her home.

                                                                    ^{Lucky and his other dog Cheetah.}

He thinks it could have been much worse had the object gone any deeper.  

"The poor animal was in pain. You could see it was an uncomfortable and traumatic experience for her.

"These dogs are used to people and not vicious but play with everyone. I’m sure she didn’t expect what happened to her."

Jeanette says the dog was definitely in anguish.

"His other dog, Cheetah, stayed with them all the time. You can see they have a close bond. He takes good care of them."  

Lucky says his dog is a fighter.

"She’s getting better and I’m hopeful she’ll fully recover." 

"I really love my dogs."

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