Savage dog attack

By Kath Gannaway
JANE Morton-Colbert could not believe the ferocity of the attack.
Terrified and screaming, Rosie, her nine-year old Maltese-cross, was being savagely mauled by two large dogs.
Her other dog, a kelpie-cross named Spotty, had also been attacked.
Three weeks and three operations after the attack, Rosie is starting to recover.
The dogs described by Ms Morton-Colbert as big, muscular, mastiff-type animals, may still be wandering Warburton streets.
Ms Morton-Colbert was at home alone about 1am on Sunday morning, 17 September, when the security lights came on at the front of the house.
She let Rosie and Spotty out to warn off what, being close to town, she thought could be wandering teenagers. But they were no match for what they met at the bottom of the steps.
“I heard a scuffle and within minutes there was hysteria. I could tell from the screaming that there was something else going on but I couldn’t see in the dark.”
Using her car headlights she drove towards the screams and commotion which were now coming from further down the property.
“I saw these two bloody big dogs with my little dog in their mouths, pulling at her from each end.
As she jumped from the car, screaming at the dogs, they dropped Rosie and ran off.
Both dogs had been bitten on the back and legs but the full extent of Rosie’s injuries were hidden.
There was massive damage under the skin requiring three operations and weeks of care.
After dealing with the trauma of the attack and nursing Rosie through painful operations, Ms Morton-Colbert is now faced with having to pay vet bills which could be as much as $2000.
For the sole-parent who works part-time to make ends meet that’s a high price to pay for someone else’s negligence.
Ms Morton-Colbert said she had learned from the Shire of Yarra Ranges ranger investigating the attacks that there had been 16 attacks on people, dogs and stock over the past couple of months.
Simone Ryan, senior community relations officer with the shire confirmed dog attacks are an increasing concern.
The shire is processing more than 40 cases that are likely to proceed to court.
She said solid evidence was needed before legal action could be taken.
In a case like this, Ms Ryan said a magistrate can impose a fine of up to $5000 and order that the dogs be destroyed. The owners may also have to pay court costs and reimburse veterinary costs.
Ms Morton-Colbert has appealed to people to report wandering dogs to the ranger and any attacks to the police. She said people can’t assume when they let their dogs out at night they will be safe, even on their own property.
“It’s frightening after seeing the way they attacked Rosie and Spotty that they are still out there and could do the same thing again,” she said.