Mystery and dread surround the deaths and injuries of dogs in Madombidzha Zone One. This follows after seven dogs were found dead on the morning of 15 January when residents woke up to prepare to go to church. About six dogs that escaped the mysterious, brutal attack in the affected households had bruises and injuries on their bodies.

In the Tshivule household, Skyvie is described as a beloved and lovely creature that was more than a pet to members of the family. On Sunday he was found lying dead, having been skinned viciously from his neck down to the waist. In a sad mood, they could do no more than dig a hole in the ground and bury him. "It was a horrible picture to look at,” said Aifheli Tshivule as she sat under the tree reflecting on the matter. "We loved our pet and cared for him a lot. We would buy dog food for him and it made him strong and happy."

All affected people whom Limpopo Mirror consulted maintain that they heard nothing during the attack in the night. They only woke up to find the appalling scenes in their homes. There are also no traces of any wild, vicious predator like a lion or leopard where the dogs were found lying dead.

Rumours of rabies were strongly dismissed by those affected. This was after a resident, who also spoke to Limpopo Mirror on condition of anonymity, started claiming that there was a rabid dog that lived in the cemetery and that this dog only sneaked into homes during the night to terrorise other dogs. However, residents disagree with him, saying that it is unlikely that a rabid dog can cut off another's head or skin another from neck to waist with such viciousness.

Vho-David Mulugo is also sad after losing at least two dogs. "I feel sad over the whole thing," he says. "Two of my four dogs have survived the strange killing, but they are bruised all over their bodies. We don't know what is eating our dogs."

In the Mpilo household they had two dogs that served as guards for the chicken pen, since feral cats had taken to terrorising the chickens. On Sunday morning, they only found Tiger's corpse with its head missing. They searched all over the yard, even in the orchard, but Tiger's head was nowhere to be found. The second dog, Bova, had vanished and no trace of it could be seen either.

"I don't have words to explain what happened with our dogs," Vho-Kenny Mpilo, owner of the two dead dogs, said. "There's pain in my heart. I loved my dogs just like all my neighbours who are also affected like me. We don't know what is terrorising and killing them. But it's sad, you know."

When he heard about the case of the butchered dogs, the SPCA's senior inspector, Lawrence Khodobo, was deeply moved by the matter and rushed to Madombidzha to investigate.