Autopsy for boy mauled to death by rottweiler

File photo: Mother of Amaziah Lewis 4, is comforted by a relative as she leaves K. Allen and Sons Funeral Directors, Arima on Sunday. Photo by Angelo Marcelle
File photo: Mother of Amaziah Lewis 4, is comforted by a relative as she leaves K. Allen and Sons Funeral Directors, Arima on Sunday. Photo by Angelo Marcelle

An autopsy is still to be done on the body of four-year-old Amaziah Lewis, who was mauled to death by a rottweiler on Sunday.

The dog attacked Lewis when he wandered out of the house at Savannah Drive, Tacarigua where his grandmother was house-sitting.

It was originally reported that the dog belonged to the grandmother, but relatives said the dog belonged to the owner of the house, who was out of the country.

Workers doing renovations on a nearby house heard the commotion and tried to separate the dog from Lewis by throwing objects at the dog.

Police were called and shot the dog, which also tried to attack them.

Speaking with Newsday on Monday, Lewis's aunt Rechaeline Stewart said her mother, Lewis's grandmother, and his parents were still coming to terms with his death.

Lewis's body was originally taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, for an autopsy on Monday but was later sent to the mortuary at Mt Hope. The autopsy is now expected to be done on Wednesday.

Police said some statements were collected from relatives and residents of the area after the attack on Sunday but more interviews would be done as the enquiry continues.

What the law says

The Dog Control Act 2013, as amended by the Dog Control (Amendment) Act 2014, there are six types of dogs identified under the act but the rottweiler is not one of them.

In this act, class A or dangerous dogs include American Pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, Alano Españols, American Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Bull Terriers, Cane Corsos, Cordoba Fighting Dogs, Dogo Argentinos, Dogue de Bordeaux, English Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Japanese Tosas, Perro de Presa Canarios and Fila Brasileiros

Other dogs are considered class B dogs.

Article 18 of the act says, “(1) A person who owns a class A dog or keeps a class A dog on his premises or owns a class B dog that has been dangerously out of control on at least one occasion shall cause to be displayed in a prominent place on the premises, a notice indicating that there is a class A dog or a dangerous class B dog on the premises.”

A breach of this is punishable by a fine of $10,000.

Article 19 (2) says: "Where a class A dog kills a person or causes the death of a person, without reasonable cause, the owner or keeper of the dog commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for ten years."

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