Joel (13) has spent three weeks in Princess Margaret Hospital following the incident on May 16 at an Eddy Close property and is facing an even longer stay after developing a fungal blood infection.
Ms Dalais said an english mastiff cross american pit bull attacked her son while he was visiting a friend at the property.
She believed the dog broke free from its collar or lead before attacking.
“Joel put his right arm up to protect his face when he saw the dog coming; 10 people were there and couldn’t get the dog off,” she said. “It has messed him up so badly… we don’t know when he will be coming home.
“He is right-handed but we don’t know if or when he will get to use his right arm again… he is in physiotherapy every day, he now has to learn to write with his left hand because he can’t straighten his right hand or arm.”
Ms Dalais said when she arrived at the property soon after the attack, a paramedic was trapped in his ambulance because the dog was still unsecured and her son had to run and jump into the vehicle to escape.
She said she was disappointed the City of Kwinana could not prosecute the owner but Mayor Carol Adams said the City had no legal avenue to investigate the incident because it was reported to have happened on private property.
“With that said, we take the safety of our residents extremely seriously and that is why an inspection of the property was undertaken immediately after we became aware of the incident,” Cr Adams said.
She said the incident was not reported to the City until May 28 and there were no prior complaints about any dogs at the property in the past 12 months.
“No issues were identified except that a dog registration had recently lapsed… a notice was issued at this time requiring the dog to be re-registered within seven days,” she said. “Regardless of the details, our thoughts are with Joel and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Ms Dalais said her son was in the top science class at school and she was trying to source an iPad for him to use while he recovered, so he does not fall behind in his schoolwork.
American pit bull terrier is listed as a restricted breed under the Dog Act 1976 – Laws for Responsible Dog Owners and requires strict enclosure fencing requirements, muzzling and restraint when in public.
The Courier was unable to contact the dog’s owner before going to print.
(Weekend Courier - June 7, 2013)
