Bondi dog attack victim Neal Alexander shares trauma of injuries and aftermath

The victim of a ferocious dog attack which left him severely injured has shared his lasting trauma as internal documents reveal a council ranger was concerned the “dangerous dog” was roaming free following the incident.

A man whose stomach was ripped apart in a brutal dog attack has shared the lasting emotional, psychological and financial pain caused by the injuries and how the investigation was handled.

Neal Alexander, 46, has not been able to work since a huge American Akita “set out to kill” him in March 2020, making him the third person to be attacked by the dog. The dog has since been put down.

On top of the permanent nerve damage and pain Mr Alexander suffers, he has developed post traumatic stress disorder from constantly reliving the experience across two years worth of investigations by Waverley Council — with the first investigation deemed insufficient — as well as $100,000 spent on medical and legal costs.

“This has completely consumed me,” he said. “It’s wiped out all my working capital and savings. It’s as bad as you could possibly imagine.”

Neal Alexander. Picture: supplied

Working as a high end glasses agent seems like another lifetime ago for Mr Alexander. It was through this job that he met a woman who asked if he could dog sit for her one afternoon.

Having grown up around large dogs, Mr Alexander thought little of the owner’s warning that her dog was big.

When she dropped off “the biggest dog (he’d) ever seen” at his Bondi home, Mr Alexander thought the muzzle it was wearing was a precaution.

The American Akita attacked Mr Alexander in Bondi. Picture: supplied

Over the afternoon, the dog was mostly well behaved but grew slightly irritable towards the end, so Mr Alexander asked the owner if she could come and get it.

According to Mr Alexander’s report to Waverley Council, the owner came over to pick the dog up. The pair were chatting as they walked outside to her car. After a short time, he raised his hand to wave goodbye, not realising the dog’s muzzle was off.

Mr Alexander was bitten several times on the stomach. Picture: supplied

“The dog’s head whipped around and lunged towards my left hand … tearing open a 5cm gash to the top side of my hand with deep punctures in my hand,” he wrote.

“I managed to release my arm to turn and run. The dog then leapt out of my car in pursuit and dragged me to the ground on the footpath … The dog then viciously bit and tore open my right side as it pulled me down to the pavement, releasing and striking my lumbar region numerous times, shaking it’s head and savaging my side, causing excruciating pain as it tore several deep chunks of flesh.”

He suffered permanent nerve damage from the attack. Picture: supplied

Mr Alexander said it was clear the dog had set out to kill him.

After being rushed to hospital in an ambulance, Mr Alexander underwent two surgeries and had a negative pressure bandage replaced every second day for six weeks to target built up fluids, in what was an extremely painful process.

“I spent six months in bed, so by the time I was out I had no work left. I worked for myself and I couldn’t have my stock on the shelves and when I got out it was in the middle of Covid. So I lost my business and haven’t worked since,” Mr Alexander said.

He said he also has permanent nerve damage down his right side and in his hand.

“But what is the hardest is the psychological damage. I have to take valium to get through the day due to the constant stress,” he said.

“That’s because this could’ve been all over and done with if the investigation was done properly by the council”.

The Wentworth Courier has seen internal investigation documents from Waverley Council which show the council issued the owner with a notice to declare her dog dangerous following the attack, but she objected to the notice and nothing further was done until eight months after the attack, on December 16, 2020.

Mr Alexander spent six weeks in hospital and six months bed bound

On that date, a head ranger wrote a letter to Mr Alexander stating he would re-open the investigation, citing Mr Alexander’s concerns about the history of attacks by the dog, the delays experienced in dealing with the matter, the absence of witness statements and the absence of CCTV which may have been available at the time.

“The investigating ranger had determined that the dog had been provoked by you, the victim. I did not form that same view based on the information available to me,” the ranger wrote.

“As such, I was concerned that a potentially dangerous dog could be among the community without the appropriate controls in place”.

Under NSW law, a council or Local Court can declare a dog dangerous if it has attacked, killed or repeatedly threatened a person or animal while unprovoked.

Owners of dangerous dogs must pay a $195 annual permit on top of their one-off lifetime pet registration fee, according to the NSW Government.

Council documents reveal the dog had previously attacked two people

According to the NSW Office of Local Government, a dangerous dog can be seized if it is not registered as dangerous with council, desexed and microchipped. It must be muzzled and under the control of a competent person by chain, cord or leash at all times when away from its home, and there must be “dangerous dog” warning signs at the dog’s home.

Dangerous dogs must also be kept away from children and can’t be sold or given to another owner.

The owner took the case to court – and won. It is understood she put the dog down voluntarily last year.

A Waverley Council spokeswoman said officers investigated a dog attack which occurred in April 2020 and issued a fine as well as a dangerous dog declaration to the owner.

Mr Alexander said it was the biggest dog he’d ever seen. Picture: supplied

“This matter was heard in court on 29 March 2022. All relevant evidence was presented at this hearing,” the spokeswoman said.

“The Judge formed the view that the dog was provoked and dismissed the case. The Judge made no criticism of council’s handling of the case”.

But Mr Alexander said the head ranger’s assessment proved the first investigation was flawed, and had his housemate been interviewed before she moved to the UK or CCTV footage been sought before it expired, there could have been a different outcome.

He said he wanted to ensure all future dog attack investigations will be quick and thorough, and that no-one else would have to endure the same legal and mental hell he had suffered over the past two years.

“This has wiped out my life,” Mr Alexander said. “It’s all I think about”.