By: Hellen Andreas
A 49-year-old man from Onamulunga village, Oniipa constituency had his right foot amputated after a donkey attacked him on Sunday.
Petrus Ukunde, who was bleeding heavily, drove himself to the Onandjokwe State Hospital for treatment.
His wife, Saara Joel, told The Villager on Monday that the doctors could not amputate the foot on Sunday because her husband was bleeding heavily.
Joel said her husband was taken to the theatre on Monday where the foot was amputated.
According to Joel, the donkey attacked her husband while he was resting under a tree outside their house.
“My husband was alone, and he was resting under a tree outside the house. Upon my arrival, I saw a pool of blood which at first, I thought was a goat attacked by dogs, but there was no sign of a goat,” she narrated.
She then rushed to the neighbours to ask if they had seen any movements, and a boy informed them that a donkey had attacked her husband.
She further said that her husband drove himself to the hospital for medical assistance.
“We found him at Onandjokwe hospital luckily, he had his car keys close to him. The doctors said he was badly injured,” she stressed.
According to her, the donkey was put down after the owner was informed about the attack.
Some villagers told The Villager that before the incident, the same donkey reportedly attacked a horse that had to be taken to the veterinary.
Veterinary officer Dr Rauna Thingo said if a person found out that their animals have rabies symptoms, they should report to nearby veterinary offices or the agriculture offices.
Dr Thingo said the samples from the donkey’s head would be tested at the laboratory to make it easier for the veterinary officers to take the next steps.
She urged the community members who put down the donkey not to consume the meat instead to burn it for precautionary measures.
“For those dealing with the process of putting the donkey down, they have to be protected and avoid being exposed to rabies by wearing protective gear and make sure they’ve washed their hands after that with clean water and soap,” she said.
Dr Thingo added that the veterinary officers would carry out the contact traces of those exposed, including the animal, after the results.
