Dog that fatally mauled handler at Hong Kong pet centre a stray awaiting adoption

SCMP | Aug. 21, 2026, 3:15 a.m. | Original

A dog that attacked its handler who died soon after was a stray awaiting adoption at a Hong Kong pet training facility, the South China Morning Post has learned, with residents living nearby saying they were not worried as the animals at the centre were kept indoors.

A check by the SCMP on Friday morning found the Pawsgate pet training centre at Ping Yeung Tsuen in Ta Kwu Ling closed a day after the attack . But staff members returned to the facility in the early afternoon to pick up three dogs, with three remaining.

According to a source familiar with the facility, the dog involved in the attack on Wong Choi-yi, the 33-year-old owner of Pawsgate, is one year and four months old. It is a brown mixed-breed weighing 30kg (66lbs) and could have pit bull ancestry – a type banned from import and breeding in Hong Kong.

It attacked Wong for about a minute, leaving wounds on her head, neck, lower jaw and both arms. A postmortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death.

The dog was a stray that had previously been cared for at a car park on Lok Ma Chau Road, but was left without a home when the site closed in April.

It was taken in by a dog welfare volunteer and a shelter, before being transferred to Wong’s training centre and pet hotel on August 11 and put up for adoption.

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