Tragedy Narrowly Avoided: Dogs Attack Teacher and Little Girl in Front of Kindergarten in Vogošća

A real drama unfolded yesterday morning in front of the kindergarten „Trešnjica“ in the center of Vogošće! A pack of stray dogs attacked a teacher who came to work, and with her was also her little girl, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

This is just another in a series of stray dog attacks on teachers of Sarajevo kindergartens since the beginning of this year. Outraged parents have announced mass protests if the authorities do not urgently remove the dogs from the streets of Sarajevo, especially in front of schools and kindergartens.

- Our colleague and her little girl are in shock. They are terrified. We are all worried, because dogs attack one of our employees or parents almost every day. Only God willed that a greater tragedy did not occur yesterday. The authorities must remove the dogs from our yards, this has gone too far – said one of the teachers from the kindergarten Trešnjica for the Patria agency.

It is not only the bites of aggressive dogs that pose a threat to the little ones, their parents and educators. Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Sarajevo Almedina Zuko previously warned for the Patria agency that the yards of kindergartens in Sarajevo, as well as other public areas in the city, are infected with various types of parasites due to stray dogs, which can cause even the most severe diseases, and this has now reached an alarming level.

- The most present parasite is „Toxocara canis“, which causes skin and other diseases in children. The other is „Echinococcus granulosus“ - the most common cause of cyst formation in humans – warned Professor Zuko.

Romania once had the highest rate of Echinococcus patients in the Western Balkans, but with the appearance of a large number of stray dogs on the streets in BiH, our country has, says Zuko, long since overtaken Romania.

Parents have announced that they will hold a meeting in the next few days, where they will agree on further steps to protect their children and their educators from dogs. They invite all parents whose children attend Sarajevo kindergartens to join them. They will demand from the authorities the urgent removal of strays from the streets, writes NAP.