Dog sneaks into school, bites three students

Three school students, including a girl, were admitted to the Government Headquarters Hospital here on Wednesday after a stray dog entered the school premises and bit them, triggering panic among the students at Kavakulam in Keezhakidaram police limits.

The students — M .Sharmitha (8) and Vinoth Kumar (8) of Class IV and Ashwin (7) of Class III — of Kavakulam Panchayat Union Middle School were inside their classrooms when the dog, which sneaked in after sanitary workers opened the main gate to chlorinate the drinking water sources, bit them.

After the canine bit Sharmitha in the forehand and back, students fled the classroom and ran in panic when Vinoth Kumar fell down and the dog bit him in the head. Ashwin too suffered bites in his hand and leg, police and hospital sources said.

Hospital Superintendent K. Krishnamoorthy said that the students were administered anti rabies vaccine and anti rabies immunoglobulin dose. They were under observation and would be discharged on Thursday or Friday, he said.

Muruganandam, father of Sharmitha, said that the adult dog had come from some other place and entered the school after sanitary workers opened the main gate.

The school had a compound wall and gate. When one of the workers tried to chase it away, the dog ran inside the classroom and bit the students, he said.

After it was chased away from the school, the dog bit two or three goats in the village, after which villagers had beaten the dog to death.

Doctors advised them not to kill the dog but after it started biting goats and posed threat to the local people, they killed the canine, Mr. Muruganandam said.