By Michael Sinclair-Jones
SEVERAL people were hurt and a small dog badly mauled by two much bigger dogs outside the Toodyay IGA store last month.
A woman was holding her small white pet in her arms near the supermarket entry at about 10am on a Wednesday morning when she was rushed by two big black dogs (pictured left).
The attackers pulled the woman’s pet from her arms and began mauling it on the ground.
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The distraught owner was scratched and bitten on her hand and arm as she tried to fend off the bigger dogs.
Shocked bystanders were also injured when they tried to help.
A passing Shire of Toodyay ranger – who was also reportedly bitten – was able to rescue the injured dog from further harm.
It was rushed to Heartlands Vet Hospital in Stirling Terrace, underwent emergency surgery (pictured right) and was recovering at the end of last month.
The two attacking dogs were captured at the scene of the attack and impounded.
Shire security camera footage showed them running unrestrained (pictured top right) across Piesse Street towards the IGA store.
Toodyay Shire CEO Suzie Haslehurst said the two attacking dogs had separate owners and were unregistered.
They had escaped from a property where they had been confined and were not on leads when the attack occurred.
The shire was in the process of getting the two animals declared dangerous and issuing both owners with fines.
The owner of the mauled dog and people who were bitten and scratched while trying to rescue it received minor injuries.
The owners of the impounded dogs would each be fined $400, and $200 per dog for allowing them to roam free.
They would also each be required to pay an annual $50 fee to register a dangerous dog, and the additional cost of fitting the two dogs with clearly marked dangerous dog collars and muzzles (pictured left).
Ms Haslehurst said dogs that had been declared dangerous were required to be confined to a “stringent confinement area with sufficient signage”.
Dangerous dogs outside a confinement area were required to be muzzled at all times.
