- Woman mauled by dog on property in Condell Park
- The “aggressive” animal has since been euthanized
EXCLUSIVE
A feral dog that mauled a cleaner at a suburban home was a rescue animal that had recently been adopted.
Lynda Dowell, 52, turned up at a property in Condell Park, in Sydney’s southwest, shortly before 1pm on Tuesday to clean up when she was suddenly attacked by the property owner’s pet.
Despite initial reports the dog was an American pit bull terrier, Dowell’s niece Kiara said the aggressive animal was a French mastiff.
Lynda Dowell (pictured) was mauled by a dog while cleaning a property in Sydney’s southwest on Tuesday.
Dog handlers are pictured removing the animal from the property on Tuesday.
The dog repeatedly bit Dowell on the chest and limbs, and a group of nearby merchants rushed to save her after hearing her screams.
The men threw a container and stones at the dog before police arrived and subdued it with a Taser.
Ms Dowell was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition, while the dog was removed from the scene and later put down by council handlers.
Dowell’s niece, Kiara, said Dowell has since undergone surgery to repair blood flow in his arm.
“The dog was a rescue dog that the lady had only had for a few weeks,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘(My aunt) is extremely traumatized by the attack and it will be a slow recovery time.
“She’s lucky to be alive.”
Ms Dowell suffered “multiple bites” to her chest and arms in the terrifying attack.
Despite initial reports the dog was an American pit bull terrier, the aggressive animal was a French mastiff.
Distressing images from the scene showed two officers standing behind a wall as onlookers shouted at them to take action.
“This has to stop now, you have to get her out of there, mate,” shouted a shopkeeper watching from behind a fence.
Seconds later, an officer fired a Taser. Then the animal started barking and someone shouted: ‘Where’s the ambulance?’
Emergency crews arrived shortly after.
Witnesses said there was little that could be done to help Mrs Dowell until the police arrived.
“Two shopkeepers stopped and were helping, but they couldn’t stop the dog from attacking the woman,” said neighbor Peter Burzynski.
One of the men who rushed to the woman’s aid, who identified himself only as Mohamad, said such dangerous animals should not be allowed.
“I started throwing rocks at him, I threw a crowbar at him, I threw small slabs of concrete at him, I threw a garbage container at him and the dog didn’t move. He continued sitting on the ground and (hitting the woman),” he said.
‘That dog shouldn’t be in public, especially a dog like that. “We all have children, it could have been any of our children, it could have been our mothers, our wives, anyone.”