A Portarlington woman has called for justice after suffering permanent injuries when the dog she was walking was attacked by another dog.
Baiba Kemp, 76, broke her arm in three places, was in hospital for a week and can no longer raise her right arm above her shoulder because of the attack and wants the dog and its owners to be held accountable.
Mrs Kemp is faced with a three-month recovery and said she will “probably have a few permanent things I can’t do with the arm”.
Mrs Kemp left her home at 9am on Monday, January 15, with her neighbour’s miniature dachshund Myrtle for their daily 3km walk along Sproat Street.
The retired pensioner said a staffordshire cross came from behind and started to attack Myrtle twice before the dachshund tried to escape through a fence, causing Mrs Kemp to hit her right arm hard on the post and lose consciousness.
When she awoke, people had come to her aid after hearing her screams, separated the dogs and helped get her right arm unstuck from the fence.
“One of my rescuers said this same dog had attacked their dog on the street minutes before,” she said.
“They thought the dog was crazy, so they chased it down the street before it could do any more harm, but I was just the poor person in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“When I came to, my arm was just hanging there, so they called the ambulance, my husband came and got the dog (Myrtle), and I went into hospital and was told I had a triple fracture in the humerus bone.”
“It was very traumatic because Myrtle is the most beautiful little dog, and I could just see her being torn apart by this dog, and I couldn’t even contemplate it.
“Three days later (after providing a statement), the prosecutor (with the City of Greater Geelong) phoned me to say there’s not enough evidence that the dog caused my injury.
“They’re not going to prosecute; they’re just going to fine the owners…as the dog didn’t actually bite me or Myrtle…they won’t call it a dog attack either. They call it a menacing dog.
“These owners have to be brought to account, because if it wasn’t for me, I think Myrtle would be dead by now from the viciousness of the way the dog acted and carried on.”
According to a statement to council, the staffy attacked another dog moments earlier and it had bitten a male’s thumb while he tried to get his dog to safety.
City of Greater Geelong City life executive director Anthony Basford said the city was still exploring ways to prosecute the dog owner, which was subject to the Domestic Animals Act 1994 as a criminal matter.
He also said Mrs Kemp could take civil action against the dog’s owner at a personal cost.
“This is a really difficult situation and we feel for the community member involved,” he said.
“We’re still investigating the matter and exploring possible enforcement outcomes.”
