By KHRISNA VIRGIL
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
ANOTHER tourist has come forward claiming to have been the victim of a dog attack while visiting the Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island.
Chad Houck, a business owner from Columbia, Maryland said as he and his wife walked on the beach they were approached by what seemed to be four docile dogs.
Mr Houck said: "On the morning of May 29, my wife and I were walking on the beach. One of the dogs jumped up on me and I told him to get down. Another one came from behind and grabbed my shorts. He wouldn't stop, so I got out of the shorts and gave them to him.
"One of the other dogs came up and bit me a couple times before I could get away."
Although his wife was left unharmed, Mr Houck said he was not so fortunate.
"The ordeal left me with six teeth marks that I needed stitches for and a couple others that were more severe," he said.
Mr Houck said locals added insult to injury by acting as if the attack was no cause for alarm.
"After I got back to the hotel and was taken to get medical attention, I proceeded to ask the gentleman if the hotel was going to take precautions to warn persons of what dangers could be waiting for them.
"While he did apologise for what happened to me, he just brushed off my inquiries and changed the subject.
"This would not have happened to me if I was informed by the hotel. I would have avoided those dogs."
Mr Houck came forward with his story after reading that a similar incident had taken place days before he was attacked.
On Thursday, Shevaun Davies contacted The Tribune claiming that she too had been attacked by a group of dogs on the same beach.
Ms Davies said she ran into the ocean to escape a "pack of wolves" that quite possibly could have taken her life.
She said: "I was approached by what seemed to be four stray dogs , I stopped running and stood still hoping they would pass me by, but unfortunately that was not the case. Completely unprovoked, the dogs attacked me (and) I was bitten severely on my front right thigh and while that was happening two of the dogs bit me badly on my back left thigh," Ms Davies said.
Not only was she left with severe wounds as a result of the attack, Ms Davies said she was also left traumatised.
Police sources in Harbour Island said the dogs belong to a couple who own a vacation home there. They have both been charged in connection with the allegations, officers said.
Officials on the island have also laid traps along the beach to round up any stray dogs that might be on the loose.
Yesterday, island administrator Don Cornish said there is no "immediate threat" of animal attacks on the beach or anywhere else on the island.
Mr Cornish said officials are in the process of educating residents of the island about how to contain their animals.
"This has been a long time coming. A town meeting is coming up for persons on the island to raise questions and concerns and also for us to inform them on what should be done to keep their dogs from breaking loose. They will also be told that pets should be kept on a leash when they are walking them.
"We have even been in meetings with persons from the highest levels of tourism because these types of things will have an affect on that sector. There are also plans to meet with hoteliers to tell them that they should inform guests should something like this recur," he said.
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