Morning after dog bit two residents to death

Folashade Adebayo writes that the death of two residents from complications arising from infection with rabies brings attention to responsibilities and obligations attached to pet ownership.The news that a young boy died from dog bite three years after his father also died from a similar cause would make many people curious. But this is the tragic story that has unsettled Mologede Estate, an unplanned but tranquil neighbourhood in the Meiran area of Lagos.

James Musa, a boisterous 13-year-old had relocated to Lagos from Abuja, after a rabid dog fatally bit his father in the Federal Capital Territory. On the often deserted inner roads in the estate, Musa and his teenage friends played football. They would shoot the ball into any neighbouring house where residents would scream at them to get them right back on the streets.

With three deaths in a spate of one month, even a Nollywood tragedy script cannot be grimmer. During a visit to the estate on Friday, our correspondent learnt, however, that Musa might still be alive if he had told his aunt and her husband of the real cause of the scratch just below his right eye. But he did not.

It was also learnt that the cycle of deaths did not start with Musa. Jerry, a huge Alsatian dog owned by the Ogundiran family living in the estate, allegedly caused the string of deaths, which by now has Musa, Jerry and Aishat Opakunle, a 21-year-old National Diploma graduate on its list. Jerry’s owner, identified simply as Mr. Ogundiran, and his family had allegedly fled the community since news of the first death broke.