“Mom, the dogs are coming... they are attacking me.” They were the last words of Arancha, the 27-year-old nurse attacked by a pack of dogs when she was walking along a rural road in the small Zamora town of Roales del Pan.
The young woman was talking on the phone with her mother when the dogs (7 adults and 2 puppies) jumped on her. When her parents and emergency teams arrived in the area, nothing could be done to save Arancha's life.
The tragic event caused by those dogs – three mastiffs, two Leonese shepherds, in addition to the 2 puppies – has ended up, as it could not be otherwise, in court.
The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, has already pointed out that the owner of these animals could face a crime of “homicide due to recklessness.”
That rancher is fully identified – he is an itinerant shepherd who lives in a caravan in that pasture area – and yesterday he stopped by the Civil Guard headquarters to take a statement, waiting to be brought to justice.
Judicial sources agree with Virginia Barcones that the case initiated could end in criminal proceedings for reckless homicide. The Civil Guard would have already charged him with that crime.
There is a death and this accusation could materialize if it is considered that this shepherd was negligent in not controlling his dogs, even though they are not included in the list of dogs considered dangerous.
These animals are now in quarantine and there is a high probability that they will end up being euthanized after having demonstrated their danger to people.
On the other hand, it will be necessary to check if they were well cared for, were they hungry or showed any other symptoms of abandonment.
And also confirm, as has been said, whether those dogs already carried out other attempted attacks days ago with a group of cyclists and two other residents of Roales. As well as verifying whether the shepherd was aware of these events and did nothing to control the animals, which roamed freely without any supervision.
The mayor of this Zamora town, David García, assured yesterday that he had no complaints for previous attacks and that the files opened against that rancher are for matters that have nothing to do with his dogs.
David García also wonders where that pastor was when the brutal attack occurred. And when asked about this violent reaction of the animals, the councilor comments that the presence of wolves in the area could be changing the behavior of the shepherd dogs, now more nervous due to the presence of this reintroduced animal.
In veterinary forums, the violent attack has surprised as it was carried out by Leonese shepherds. They consider the event as “an exceptional event” since at most these herding dogs are limited to protecting their surveillance territory. And it is strange that they abandon their assigned mission to attack people.
The Zamora College of Veterinarians has been in charge of checking the documentation of these animals. Among the adults, four of them had an identification chip and all their papers were in order. A fifth dog lacks this documentation and it is being investigated whether or not it was already required or mandatory due to his age.
The City Council of Roales del Pan – a town of only a thousand inhabitants – has decreed three days of mourning. The news of Arancha's death under these circumstances has shocked the population, where the young woman was highly appreciated.
