Fortunately Ramya did not end up becoming yet another statistic like two other children, Sridevi and Manjunath, who were mauled to death by stray dogs in the city in 2007.

Bengaluru: It was Thursday noon and six- year- old Ramya was playing in a field in Sunkadakatte near Bidarahalli when horror unfolded. Before the little girl could move, a pack of around 15 stray dogs pounced on her, mauling her. But she was luckier than other children her age, who have been killed by strays in the past.

Local villagers rushed to her rescue and shooed the dogs away, saving her life. "I thought I had lost her,” said her badly shaken father, Ramegowda, 34, holding his daughter's hand and trying to comfort her. Informed by other villagers about the attack, he rushed to her side and found her badly injured, bleeding and with bites all over her body.

"My daughter was playing in the field when the dogs attacked her. Had it not been for the labourers who shooed away the dogs I might have lost her," he added. But the child’s plight was far from over as nearby hospitals refused to treat her.. "I went to two hospitals nearby who gave her first-aid but refused to admit her, saying her condition was very serious," added Ramegowda, who was finally able to admit her to the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences(KIMS), where doctors say had she arrived later it may have been too late to save her.

"They were all category 3 bites and were all over her body. Shockingly, she had some 50 wounds including teeth marks, bites and scratches. We gave her an anti- rabies vaccination and immunoglobulin infiltration," said Dr Giriyanna Gowda, the assistant professor who treated her at the Anti Rabies Clinic of KIMS.

Ramya is now stable and the blood loss has been contained. She was treated at the Anti Rabies Clinic of KIMS. (Photo: DC)

Ramya is now stable and the infection and blood loss has been contained, he adds. “Had she come in later there would have been huge blood loss and high chances of the infection spreading," he said. She will remain under observation for another three days, according to Dr Shrinivasa, HoD of the paediatric unit of KIMS .

Fortunately Ramya did not end up becoming yet another statistic like two other children, Sridevi and Manjunath, who were mauled to death by stray dogs in the city in 2007. The girl’s father complains that the BBMP has done nothing to curb the stray dog menace in his locality, which has some 200 of them. “We have complained to the village heads but no one has set foot in this area to deal with the hundreds of stray dogs,” added Ramya’s uncle, Shivalingegowda.

Meanwhile, Dr Maheshwar, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department, BBMP who visited the spot of the attack, says they have now begun combing the area intensively for the stray dogs. "We have already sent a team of dog catchers to the area and caught many strays. The intensive combing will continue for the next two days," he assured.