Neil Walsh still holds out hope that he will recoup some costs after his dog Blue was attacked by two dogs in Armadale last year.
Mr Walsh said he was walking American Staffordshire bull terrier Blue on Dale Road about 6pm on July 22 when two dogs ran out from a driveway with no leads on, straight towards them at great speed.
Mr Walsh said he tried to push the two dogs away as they were biting at Blue’s chest and armpit.
“There is a big blood vessel there so I put my hand in to try and get the dog away and immediately it just latched onto my hand and started shaking it,” he said.
“I was in shock almost, I had to do something.”
Mr Walsh said he eventually freed himself and staggered home before taking Blue to a vet.
“He had a couple of holes under his arm that were open and he has still got some bite marks on him,” he said.
“They cleaned up all his wounds and flushed them all and was given antibiotics and painkillers.”
Mr Walsh received puncture wounds to his right hand and required medication and scans.
The injuries have not only hurt him physically but also financially as he has received very little help from the dogs’ owner.
“The vet bill came to $400 and that’s half of my pension cheque,” he said.
“I am on disability pension, I have a bad back and a few other problems and I have had to put things in Cash Converters to get the money for phone bills, food and rent.”
Mr Walsh said he felt compelled to come forward about his experience after reading about a similar story in The Examiner that occurred in Seville Grove in November last year.
“I am able to avoid walking past there as there is laneway but I just don’t go past that house anymore because I don’t know what will happen,” he said.
“I just want the owner to accept responsibility for it and give me some of my money back.”
City of Armadale chief executive Joanne Abbiss said the attacking dogs were registered and the owner was fined.
“Unfortunately the city has to constantly deal with these incidents and rangers do have to make assessments based on the history, severity and circumstances of each case,” she said.
“In some cases dogs are declared dangerous, court action is commenced or fines are issued.
“Given the number of incidents Rangers deal with, officers do try to ensure there is consistency in the level of response for incidents with similar facts.”
The City was asked how much the owner was fined but they did not respond before deadline.
