‘I thought I was going to die’: Stamatis Kapetanios, 52, recalls being attacked by 15 dogs during holiday with 3 children
ATHENS, GREECE: A middle-aged man and three children were attacked by a pack of wild dogs during their vacation in Athens, Greece. The man has been identified as 52-year-old Stamatis Kapetanios who was holidaying with his nine-year-old son Danny Kapetanios along with the latter’s two cousins Roxy, 11, and Teddy, nine.
According to The Daily Mail, the gruesome incident took place on August 13 when the British children along with the Greek father were left severely bruised by seven to 15 dogs on a volcano near Athens. The group was bitten by wild Rhodesian Ridgebacks. These wild dogs are known to be first bred in South Africa to hunt lions but are now found worldwide.
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'I thought I'd die’
The Daily Mail reported that Stamatis Kapetanios was admitted for six days in the hospital with wounds that also included ear mutilation. The nine-year-old Teddy found himself surrounded by the wild dogs on volcano Sousaki but he managed to escape unhurt during the horrific attack. Speaking of the incident, Stamatis Kapetanios revealed that was undergoing psychological recovery after returning from the hospital.
Stamatis revealed that his left arm was left paralyzed during the dogs’ attack after which he had to drive 25 minutes to the nearest hospital using only one arm. Shedding light on the brutal rampage, Stamatis said he along with the kids got surrounded on a public footpath by bloodthirsty dogs. They reportedly spotted the pack around 300m away. “We had walked around a kilometer on the tourist path before the dogs approached us. My first reaction was to put my body between the dogs and the children.”
He added, “I was armed with only a backpack with the children's water bottles. I used it to stop the dogs until they bit my arm so forcefully that it was thrown out of my arm. Then they knocked me to the ground and began biting. I thought I was going to die” further stating, “I kept asking myself: "How can this possibly be the end?" I was losing the will to live. I felt I didn't have any power.” Roxy and Danny got bitten on the elbow and bottom whereas, Teddy managed to escape.
'If you go there, you go to meet death’
Stamatis Kapetanios’ shaken wife Alison, too spilled the beans on the terrifying incident. Alison, whose sister Suzie is mother to Roxy and Teddy, said, “'Parents covered their children's eyes to stop them seeing the bloodbath.” The father and uncle were also given 50 stitches during their six-day stay at a hospital in Athens.
Stamatis further spoke about the wild dogs' attack saying, “The worst part for us is that this place is still open to the public” adding, “If you go there, you go to meet death.” He along with his wife Alison filed a lawsuit that under Greek law targets “all parties responsible” for the incident. The cops had reported the presence of the wild Rhodesian Ridgebacks in November 2021 and they were appalled over authorities not taking proper action.