Wyndham council officers have come under fire after a dog attacked a loved family pet, ripping its chest open and leaving its owners with a huge vet bill.
Emma Leunig said her boxer Harry was mauled in Riversdale Drive, Werribee, on January 30 and despite reporting immediately, it took a week for council rangers to visit.
She said council staff apologised for the delay and said it was because they were “understaffed”.
“This is a dangerous dog and even if the owners have moved it from their property, it is somewhere out there in the community posing a threat to children, pets and people,” Ms Leunig said.
“Harry is a rescue dog, but to my husband and I, he’s our son.”
Ms Leunig said she was walking Harry on lead about 9.30pm when the other dog “charged” through the open door of a house in Riversdale Drive and attacked without warning.
“It hit Harry with such ferocity that I didn’t have a chance to protect him,” she said.
“It grabbed his shoulder then Harry’s chest and latched on, trying to shake him.”
People from the house jumped on the attacking dog, kicking it savagely, but it hung on, she said.
When it finally let go, a man she presumed was the owner yelled at her to run, so she said she picked up Harry and ran while calling her husband for help.
Harry underwent emergency surgery at Melbourne University’s Werribee veterinary hospital and was kept overnight because vets suspected he’d suffered a heart attack.
“It was a horrific attack, but where is the council follow-up?” Ms Leunig said. “It’s pathetic.”
Wyndham council did not respond before the Weekly deadline.
