(JA)Hunting dogs kill disabled retiree

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http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20010426p2a00m0dm005002c.html

 

Hunting dogs kill disabled retiree

 

By Keisuke Kawazu and Tomoshige Fujino, Mainichi Shimbun

Apr 26, 2001

 

KANOYA, Kagoshima -- Three hunting dogs mauled an elderly man to death while

he was outside in his wheelchair, police said Thursday.

 

The 89-year-old man, Tadayoshi Tojo, was in a rural district in Kanoya on

Wednesday afternoon when the three Plott hound hunting dogs suddenly savaged

him, biting his face and arms.

 

A housewife driving by saw the incident and called police, who managed to

fight the animals off, but Tojo died about three hours later from shock and

loss of blood.

 

After the dogs escaped into a mountain forest in the area, police launched a

hunt and placed poison bait. The canines were tracked down near the area at

about 10 p.m. after their unnamed 70-year-old owner, who had turned himself

in, whistled to call them in. Police took custody of the animals, but one

died after eating the poisoned bait.

 

Each dog that savaged the man stood between 50 and 60 centimeters in height

and weighed about 20 kilograms. Their owner had been using them to track

down wild monkeys and rabbits before the mauling, but he had lost sight of

them, police said.

 

Tojo's right leg was amputated below the knee in October 1999 after he

suffered from an artery condition, police said. He had lived with his wife

at their home about 300 meters away from where the incident occurred and had

often gone outside in his wheelchair.