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Dogs that attacked a woman in Vincent are still on the loose

A pack of vicious dogs which attacked a woman in a Townsville suburb remain on the loose, with fears the animals are “after blood” and could hurt others.

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A pack of vicious dogs which attacked a woman in a Townsville suburb remain on the loose, with fears the animals are “after blood” and could hurt others.

Long-term Vincent resident Vicki Hawkins has been left shaken after the incident on Monday afternoon, when she narrowly avoided serious injuries while trying to protect her neighbour’s dog.

Ms Hawkins said she noticed the loose dogs running along her neighbour’s fenceline about 1pm and went to protect his pet bull arab cross after seeing half the pack jump into the yard.

Vicki Hawkins narrowly escaped serious injury after her neighbour's dog was mauled by four dogs who went to attack her. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.
Vicki Hawkins narrowly escaped serious injury after her neighbour's dog was mauled by four dogs who went to attack her. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

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“I have gone to chase them from his yard and two have gone for me four or five times and I stood my ground but then I honestly thought, this is it,” she said.

She escaped uninjured after the neighbour’s dog intervened, diverting the dogs away from her.

Unfortunately the pet suffered a large gash to its head and has been left unable to walk after being bitten multiple times on all its legs during the incident.

Ms Hawkins could not say what breed the dogs in the pack were, but described them as medium-sized with one having white fur, another with light brown fur and the others having dark brown fur with patches.

“I say someone owned them. They were all friends and knew each other and were working as a pack unit, not working separately,” she said.

“They were after blood.”

She has been living with the shock of the ordeal all week and was worried the dogs, which she had never seen in the area before, would return.

Vicki Hawkins is afraid children may be injured by the dogs that attacked her. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.
Vicki Hawkins is afraid children may be injured by the dogs that attacked her. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

“I am afraid if it happens again it will be a child and they will definitely get hurt,” Ms Hawkins said.

Ms Hawkins said she felt guilty that her neighbour had been left with a hefty vet bill and is contemplating starting a crowd-funding campaign to assist him.

Townsville City Council confirmed a complaint had been made regarding the dog attack.

“As soon as the complaint was received, two council compliance officers attended and conducted patrols of the area in an effort to locate the offending dogs,” a spokesman said.

“However, they could not be found.”

The spokesman said the council would continue to undertake “proactive patrols” of the area in an effort to identify the dogs or its owners and if so the dogs could be declared as dangerous or menacing.

The owners could also be prosecuted.

Anyone with information about the attack should contact the council on 134 810.

Meanwhile, two people were rushed to hospital with significant hand injuries after an unrelated dog attack in Home Hill on Thursday morning. It is understood a woman in her 40s and a child were trying to break up a dogfight when they were bitten.

Originally published as Dogs that attacked a woman in Vincent are still on the loose

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/townsville/dogs-whick-attacked-a-woman-in-vincent-are-still-on-the-loose/news-story/d93cc82981641095d78063c93f091bfe