A Cape Town toddler is in critical condition after being attacked by a Rottweiler while he was walking with his stepfather in Belhar.

On Sunday, 3-year old Lincoln Nimmerhuidt was on his way to the doctor with his stepfather to receive treatment for chickenpox. En route they passed Perseverance Secondary School where a Rottweiler was on guard. The canine rushed the toddler without warning and grabbed him by the neck, mauling him and attempting to drag him into the school’s premises.

“It grabbed him by the back of the neck and would not let go of him. I threw myself on to it but it did not want to bite me,” stepfather Uzent Links told the [Cape Times].

Lincoln was admitted to hospital and underwent surgery for injuries to his face, head and body. He is in a serious but stable condition.

According to police spokesperson Warrant Officer November Filander, the dog has since been put down by the SPCA and a case of “letting a dangerous dog stray” has been opened against the unnamed security company that was responsible for the dog.

This is third case in recent months of a Rottweiler attacking a toddler without provocation, “dog-whisperer” James Lech’s canine the guilty party in the previous two cases.  Last month also saw a pensioner attacked by a Pit Bull without provocation.

[Source: News24]