The year 2022 is winding to a close. It seemed to have swooshed by in a flash. People in my circle agree they do not know where the year went. It has been a year we left the pandemic behind after two years of uncertainty. The new normal we returned to is not different to the old normal.
We went back to our old ways, and apart from a few people obsessed with hygiene, we went back to shaking hands, hugging and kissing. The man who steered us through the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa himself was not immune to locking lips with the elderly in Kimberley, as he drummed up support ahead of this week’s ANC elective conference.
My colleagues at the National Press Club have a tradition wherein they zero in on the one issue hogging the national headlines that made an imprint on the national psyche. This annual ritual courted controversy when the endangered rhino snapped the prize despite former president Jacob Zuma dominating headlines for his myriad of shenanigans.
Anyway, what single topic dominated the headlines this year? Was it the Phala Phala scandal wherein Ramaphosa got entangled in allegedly concealing a multi-dollar robbery at his farm? Should we give the award to the pit bull terrier, that little monster loved and loathed in the same measure after the smuts mauled children and adults across the country?
While their owners swear by their loyalty and affection, the vicious dogs have cast the spotlight on the breed following publicised attacks in recent months. A petition for the government to ban pit bulls domestic rearing has garnered over a hundred thousand signatures. Some owners, fearing community backlash, have surrendered their pets to animal welfare organisations.
I covered my first pit bull attack in 2006 in Pretoria when the father of the owner, who regularly fed and was familiar to the dogs, was attacked and killed by the pets.
According to veterinary lecturer Dr Quixi Sonntag, the crossbreed was originally bred for dogfighting for the entertainment of people. “They were originally not bred to be human-aggressive, just dog-aggressive.”
She says the scary appearance of the dogs has seen demand for them increase over the past decade. “As a result, people who just want to make money started breeding very dangerous dogs that are now also human-aggressive.”
So, when we look back at the year that was, will 2022 be the Year of the Dog or the Buffalo farmgate?
You be the judge.
From the Straight & Two Beers crew, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2023.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
