Woman dies from heart attack after allegedly being chased by stray dogs in Malaysia

[Update: 5.52pm]

Animal advocacy group Malaysia Animal Association released a statement today (Sept 30) defending the stray dogs.

"This woman didn't die from an attack or dog bites and no injuries were reported," the association wrote.

"What's wrong is this incident has created an excuse for street dog haters to oppose and continue to blame all street dogs for harm and danger to the community."

A 65-year-old woman died of a heart attack in Kampung Baru Dengkil, Selangor after allegedly being chased by stray dogs on Tuesday (Sept 29) morning, reported Harian Metro.

Eyewitnesses heard the dogs barking loudly and later saw the woman, who was not identified, walking slowly before collapsing on the ground, Sepang District Deputy Chief of Police Superintendent Noor Aehwan Mohammad said.

The eyewitnesses then called for an ambulance, but paramedics pronounced the woman dead on the scene.

Further examination of the body found no involvement of criminal elements, Noor confirmed.

Her body was later sent to Putrajaya Hospital for an autopsy.

Following the incident, local authorities launched an operation to round up stray dogs in the area, news channel TV3 reported.

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Animal rights groups in Malaysia have long advocated for trap-neuter-release programmes to address the problem of strays.

Across the causeway, Singapore saw a spike in skirmishes between stray dogs and community cats during the circuit breaker period from April 7 to June 1, as well as in July, The New Paper reported.

The issue could be attributed to an increase in people abandoning their pets, Dr Tai Yesun of Nam Sang Veterinary Clinic explained.

Unneutered male dogs also have higher testosterone levels, so they may be more aggressive, she added.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com