Police said the 37-year-old victim and his mate were "play fighting" in Woolloomooloo on Saturday night when one of his two dogs got worked up and set upon his owner.
The dog, a labrador cross ridgeback, latched onto his owner's lower leg, biting it to the bone, before clamping his jaws on the man's arm and savagely tearing at it.
A female neighbour, aged in her late 30s, who heard the man screaming, was also bitten on the leg when she tried to help.
While paramedics were treating the injured pair, two female police officers comforted a second dog belonging to the man - which had not been part of the commotion. Witnesses said the officers gave the "good dog" a bone, and sat with it to keep it calm, while the "bad dog" was tied to a fence, then taken away.
"There were people screaming and carrying on, and the dogs were getting worked up. It was pretty full-on here," a witness said.
The dog at fault was tied to a fence by some brave witnesses and left there while police worked out what had occurred.
A police spokesman said the owner of both dogs was visiting the house in Stephen St just before 10pm and "play fighting" with his mate shortly before the attack happened.
The injured man and woman were both taken by ambulance to St Vincent's Hospital for treatment and released late yesterday.
The owner was reunited with the dog that wasn't involved in the attack. Sydney City Council rangers will today determine what to do with the other dog.
Police said the owner had expressed a desire for it to be put down for fear it could attack again.
(theaustralian.com.au - Nov 5, 2012)
