"I was near the hangar when the first dog started chasing me. Then two more arrived: they surrounded me and made me fall." This is how the story of Pino Casula, 80 years old, a long-time member of the bowling club on Via dell'Aeronautica, near the former airport area, begins. Ten days ago he was attacked by three loose dogs, perhaps strays or from the nearby Roma camp. From that moment on, an ordeal began for him: a bad fracture to his femur that has kept him hospitalized at the Policlinico for more than a week, severe pain, and the need for physiotherapy to start moving again. In addition to this, there is also the despair of having been the victim of a dangerous situation that had already been reported several times.
The assault
After being at the club he has been a member of for thirty years, Casula was getting ready to go home around 6:00 p.m.: at that moment the animals appeared to block his path. They were moments of fear: even though they were not large, the dogs immediately showed aggression and the man, once attacked, tried to get away as best he could. "They jumped, tried to bite me, and so I fell." The intervention of a man and a woman who saw the old man on the ground was providential: they pushed the dogs away and helped Casula get up. "A friend accompanied me home, because initially I didn't want to go to the hospital. That night, however, I couldn't move from the pain." So, the next day the tests arrived, carried out at Marino. The diagnosis was unequivocal: fractured femur, and immediate transfer by ambulance to the Policlinico, where the man was and still is hospitalized. Three days ago, the femur reconstruction operation arrived. "I still have severe pain, and it will take months before I fully recover," he reiterates, "In these days I will see a physiotherapist and begin rehabilitation."
Unheard Reports
An episode that shines a spotlight on a situation that is causing concern at the Airfield. "It happened to me in the evening, but those dogs are there at all hours. We have reported it several times, both to the police and to the municipality, but nothing has been done," continues Casula. "Recently another person was surrounded and attacked, but since he was on a bicycle he managed to get away before they knocked him over." The area is also very popular with athletes, including young people. "A lot of kids pass by there, for example, who go to play soccer. These dogs are aggressive, they chase, and when they are in a group they are even worse. It is very dangerous."
David Lao
