Dog at nursing home mauls resident to death

A 62-year-old resident at a nursing home in Anseong, Gyeonggi, died on Wednesday after one of the facility owner’s dogs escaped from his cage and bit her.

The dog’s owner, who euthanized the dog shortly after the victim’s death, was booked on charges of involuntary manslaughter and violation of the Animal Protection Act, according to Anseong police.

According to officers from the Anseong Police Precinct, the victim was strolling around the nursing home at around 7:55 a.m. Wednesday when the dog “severely bit” her in the buttocks, chest and calves. The owner had left the dog’s cage open. The deputy head of the nursing home, a 44-year-old man, ran towards the dog after witnessing the scene, and he was bitten on the legs.

A passerby called 112 and both victims were transferred to a nearby hospital, but the 62-year-old woman died at around 1:16 p.m. the same day. The deputy head is still in the hospital receiving medical treatment. His injuries aren’t life-threatening, according to authorities. The nursing home owner, a 58-year-old man, testified to police that he raised two dogs in a cage on the facility’s lawn. One escaped the cage Wednesday morning after he left it open to clean up inside. Police said the dog that bit the resident was three years old and 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) long. Officers mentioned they could apply for a detention warrant for the dog’s owner.

Dog bites have become a major social issue in Korea recently. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs introduced a new set of dog safety measures last year requiring dog owners to use a leash on all dogs and a muzzle for dogs 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) or taller in public places.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, CHOI MO-RAN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]