Three operations later, Shannon Schneider, 40, a tourist who was attacked by two pit bulls on Harbour Island last week is set to leave Doctors Hospital today.
The Guardian spoke on Monday to her husband, Keith Schneider, who confirmed that his wife had just had her final operation and was sedated at the time.
The Schneiders, who were on vacation with their five young children, aged 21 months to 10 years, have had a traumatizing experience in The Bahamas, and are asking the Government to see the urgency in tackling the stray-dog problem.
Mr. Schneider said that, having spent a week in Nassau, most of the time at the bedside of his wife, he has seen stray dogs in almost every alley and every corner.
The Bahamas he said, has a lot of potential as a tourist destination, but Bahamians need to pay more attention and think of the risks stray and roaming dogs could have on the industry.
His wife, he said, has multiple bite wounds on ” every part of her body except her face.”
Even after she leaves The Bahamas, she has to undergo post-operative and psychological treatment to deal with the trauma of the whole experience, Mr. Schneider said.
“The doctors said that it was nothing short of a miracle that she is alive, given the extensive injuries she incurred. The damage could have been much more serious to the point where she could have died. This was a miracle,” he said.
His entire family has been traumatized he said, and the last time his youngest children saw their mother was when she was leaving Harbour Island on Medivac.
He said that when he spoke to locals about the problem, some of them shrugged it off saying “it’s not that bad”.
With The Bahamas as a tourist destination, he said, having so many strays around “is not worth the risk. I am not saying that you should just go around and euthanize all the stray dogs, but dog owners also have to be more responsible. Some people have the attitude that if they could, they would kill all the dogs tomorrow.”
Mr. Schneider urges law makers to seriously consider the dangers and risk the problem could have on the tourism industry. “What benefit does stray dogs bring to tourism? You know, these dog owners don’t know how much their irresponsibility could impact everyone. The impact goes beyond tourism. You’ve impacted the lives of a whole family,” he said.
As to whether his family intends to return to The Bahamas for vacation he said, ” it’s not at the top of our list. I mean, I can’t say that we’ll never come back here. There are a lot of positives about The Bahamas. The people have been wonderful and this place has so much to offer. But, after having such a traumatic experience, it won’t be any time in the near future. There are a lot of other places we can visit.”
Mr. Schneider said, “We still haven’t had time to really sit down and cope with the trauma. We are just counting our blessings and I am just so thankful that my wife will be able to walk out of here (Tuesday). “
By Vanessa C Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
