Karen Seidel-Davies (pictured) was hospitalised with cuts to her chin and scalp, and suffered puncture wounds to her arms, legs and hands after she was set upon by an 18-month-old bulldog in Greens Rd on August 15. The dog was destroyed three days later.
The attack happened two days before a four-year-old girl was killed by a pit bull in St Albans.
A dog owner herself, Mrs Seidel-Davies is now undergoing counselling and has seen a plastic surgeon to repair facial injuries.
Her car remains bloodied with paw prints and scratch marks on the driver’s door and window
A three-time Census collector, Mrs Seidel-Davies said she was unlikely to work again.
“The gate was open so I drove in, got out of my car and knocked on the front door,” she said.
“I saw a light on in the kitchen so I thought someone must be home.
“I stepped out to see if the people were there when the dog saw me, broke off his chain, and came at me.
“I just ran for my car but he got there before me.”
Mrs Seidel-Davies said she tried in vain to push the ferocious dog away.
“It just kept coming and coming at me,” she said.
“I must have fallen over because that’s when it grabbed my hair.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Crawling into a ball to protect herself, a badly injured Mrs Seidel-Davies somehow managed to climb back inside her car.
“I got back into the car and I couldn’t see, there was blood everywhere,” she said.
She pressed the car’s horn which alerted the dog’s owners, who called an ambulance.
“When the ambos arrived I just said, ‘Please help me, I’m scared’,” she said. “I just want people to be more aware of dogs, no matter how big or small they are or how much you trust them.”
Melton Council’s acting compliance manager John Russell said the council was investigating and may decide to prosecute.
He said there were 16 declared dangerous breeds registered in Melton Shire, with 30-40 dog attacks reported each year, mainly on other animals.
(Melton Leader - Sept 1, 2011)
