Hungry horror lurking under the house

ANG THONG: Rattana Thithanukul, of Jarakae Rong village, has had rat problems before. But now, they’re getting out of hand. One of the local mongrels had recently given birth to eight pups under Rattana’s house, which sits on stumps about a foot off the ground. The pups’ mother came back to feed them only occasionally, so Rattana decided to keep an eye on them. A few days later, Rattana noticed that one of the pups was missing. The next day, she checked to see if it had returned, only to find that a second pup had disappeared. Mystified as to where the puppies had gone, Rattana and her family resolved to keep a more watchful eye on the litter and an ear out for trouble. That evening, they heard a puppy yelping in pain. They rushed downstairs and saw about 10 rats emerging from a nearby sewer and attacking the puppies. They beat the rats off, though too late to save one puppy, which was dragged into a corner under the house where they could not reach it. Rattana and her family could only stand by, helpless and horrified, listening to the puppy scream as it was eaten alive. Determined not to let the five remaining puppies suffer the same fate, Rattana brought them in the house for safekeeping. Three puppies had had their tails chewed off, while the other two had suffered serious injuries from rat bites.