Ayen Chol, 4, killed in pit bull cross attack at St Albans
UPDATE 7.30pm: THE unregistered pit bull cross that mauled and killed four-year-old Ayen Chol in St Albans last night has been euthanised.
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UPDATE 7.30pm: THE unregistered pit bull cross that mauled and killed four-year-old Ayen Chol has been euthanised.
Ayen Chol, 4, died as her 30-year-old cousin Anglina Meymout fought desperately to fend off the vicious animal after it wandered into the youngster's St Albans home in Lahy St at 8pm yesterday, her distraught family said.
Ayen was clinging to her mum's leg when she was fatally mauled.
Ms Meymout suffered bites to her arms and hands during the terrifying struggle, during which she tried to beat the dog away with a table, a family friend said.
Her daughter, Nyadeng Goaer, 5, suffered scalp injuries in the horrific attack.
The dog was put down late today.
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The tragedy unfolded when a cousin, who owns the house, was walking a family friend to the door and the dog confronted them.
As they tried to run indoors, the pit bull attacked before setting upon the children who were watching television.
Ayen's mother Jackline Ancaito tried to help Nyadeng, when the dog turned on Ayen, who was clinging to her mother's leg.
A mother's grief
Mrs Ancaito said today putting the dog down wouldn't bring her daughter back.
Speaking through a translator, Mrs Ancaito said her daughter Ayen was a "very lovely, very clever child".
"There is nothing I would really wish to be done to the dog because at the end of the day even if the dog is killed it's not going to bring my daughter back," she said.
"It's not going to compensate the life of my daughter.
"The only person that needs to be asking questions is the owner of the dog and the local council. The owners of the dog have really let her down because they should have had some sort of way to control the dog."
Mrs Ancaito claimed the dog's owners did not help her despite her pleas.
She said she was devastated by her daughter's death.
"She was a loving child, and a very clever child. She died as she was struggling for her life," she said.
Jackline Ancaito (right), the mother of Ayen Chol who was killed in a pit bull attack. Picture: Penny Stephens
Daniel Atem, a cousin of the victims, said Ayen's father, who is working in southern Sudan, has been contacted and was returning home.
"He's very, very, very sad. The elders community in southern Sudan will counsel him," Mr Atem said.
A neighbour described how Mrs Ancaito screamed desperately for help during the attack.
The neighbour, who did not want to give his name, said he rushed for help after the girl's mother came running from the house screaming: "My daughter's getting attacked by a dog."
He said that he and others ran into the house where they tried to revive the girl with assistance from ambulance services over the phone.
He said that he had never seen the dog in the street before and that the dog's 30-year-old owner, who lives in the same street, was "devastated" by the attack.
A Sunshine Hospital official today confirmed Nyadeng had woken from plastic surgery after being treated for scalp lacerations and an infection.
Family friend, Abuk Majok, said the two surviving victims of the dog attack were being cared for in the same room of the hospital.
"The little girl has woken up and is fine," Ms Majok said.
Her mother was also due to undergo surgery to her arm and hand tonight.
Both are currently in a stable condition but expected to remain in hospital for several days, according to the spokeswoman.
Trevor Jones, associate professor and director of surgery for Western Health, told media this afternoon the hospital treats dog bite injuries too frequently.
Friends and relatives of Ayen Chol, who was killed in a pit bull attack. Picture: Penny Stephens
Councils given greater powers
Councils will be given greater powers to destroy dangerous dogs in the wake of the attack.
The Baillieu Government announced today it will end an amnesty on dangerous dog owners, allowing council staff to enter properties and destroy any dangerous dogs they find.
The news comes as the local authorities confirmed that the dog was unregistered, but also said it was not restricted because indications were that it was a pit bull cross.
Brimbank administrator Peter Lewinsky said further testing was being done to check the dog's blood lines, but said there had been no previous complaints about the animal.
Brimbank council ready to act
Brimbank City Council CEO Nick Foa said the council welcomed the State Government's decision to lift the amnesty.
“This is also a wake-up call to the entire community that government needs more effective ways of handling dangerous dogs and dogs of certain breeds," Mr Foa said.
"Fines of $4500 - the maximum allowable - are completely inadequate when it comes to protecting the community."
Almost a fifth of the 243 dogs on the Victorian dangerous dogs’ register are in Brimbank.
The council said most were guard dogs used to patrol the large number of factories and industrial estates in the area.
Mr Foa said the council was ready, willing and able to enforce revamped legislation or guidelines.
“We support the lifting of the two year amnesty for dog owners to register their restricted breed dogs and plans to toughen the Crimes Act to impose criminal penalties and possible jail terms on owners of dangerous dogs," he said.
“We also back proposals to reverse the onus of proof on what is classified as a dangerous dog back onto the owner. Plans to give local councils the resources to track down unregistered animals are also a step in the right direction."
Mr Foa said the council had 35 dog attacks in the past 12 months.
He said it picked up six to 10 stray dogs a day, did an annual door knock to find unregistered animals, ran pet expos, cheap microchipping days and community information sessions.
“Previously, our hands have been tied by inadequate State legislation. We hope review of current legislation and suggested new powers will make our efforts rather more effective. Even so, in the end, it all comes down to what dog owners do or don’t do," he said.
Click here to read more reaction to the fatal attack
Acting Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay said the girl's death was an "absolute tragedy" and would reignite the debate about dangerous dogs.
"I wouldn't want one of them (pit bulls) living next to me, that's for sure," he said.
Police are yet to determine if charges will be laid against the owner of the dog.
Supt Graham Kent, of Brimbank police, said police were in the early stages of the investigation.
"It's yet to be fully investigated to see whether or not there's been any offence committed," he said.
"Our focus at this stage is to find out what happened and in the process of doing that we will find out whether or not there's been any offence."
A family member outside the victim's house in St Albans. Picture: Trevor Pinder
House burned down
Mrs Ancaito and her three children, Ayen and two boys, were staying at their cousin's house because the home they were living in, also in St Albans, had burned down in a fire last month.
The family of Sudanese refugees migrated to Australia in 2004 for a better life, living in Adelaide before shifting to Melbourne.
Friends and relatives react to the terrible news last night. Picture: Jon Hargest
Neighbours react
Neighbour Jure Prsa said he heard screaming as he was inside his home last night.
"(It was) bad, bad," Mr Prsa said this morning.
"When I heard what happened, disgusting - a dog killed a baby."
Mr Prsa said he wasn't aware of the dog causing any problems before.
He said often said hello to the family in the street.
Josephine Mizzi, who lives opposite the house where the dog attack occurred, told how the young children would often be playing on the grass outside their home.
"They are nice kids - they always say hello when you are passing by," Mrs Mizzi said.
"It is terribly sad ... such a tragedy."
Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman Susannah Wilson said it was a dreadful tragedy.
"It would have been a very traumatic scene for everyone," she said.
Neighbour Menid Markovic (right) advocated that all pit bulls in the country should be destroyed after the attack. Picture: Trevor Pinder
Legal status of pit bulls
Pit bulls are a restricted breed in Victoria, with regulations meaning all must be microchipped, desexed, muzzled and leashed in public and registered with local councils.
They must be kept in an outdoor enclosure made of brick, concrete, chain mesh or similar materials and owners must display a "restricted breed'' sign on all entrances to their premises.
Lost Dogs Home's Dr Graeme Smith said the restricted animals register needed to be broadened to include pit bull cross breeds.
According to the Animal Welfare Bureau there are 72 registered pit bull terriers in Victoria, but Dr Smith said there were far more.
"It's a gross underestimation of the numbers of American pit bull terriers that are out there in the community,'' he said.
In February, a mum watched as her husband and children were mauled by an American pit bull and an American staffordshire terrier at Hoppers Crossing.
In December 2005 Zac Jasinski, three, was attacked in a neighbour's backyard in Yallourn by an American pit bull, with the assault only stopping when the dog was axed to death.
- Amelia Harris, Nathan Mawby, Michelle Ainsworth, Mark Buttler and AAP
A sign visible outside the pit bull owner's house. Picture: Trevor Pinder
Timeline of dog attacks during the past five years
17 August 2011
A pit bull cross mauled a four-year-old girl to death and savaged attacked two of her relatives after it wandered into the youngster's family home in St Albans.
19 Feb 2011
A pit bull terrier was destroyed after biting a police officer's face on the New South Wales south coast town of Bomaderry.
13 Feb 2011
A young family was attacked by an American pit bull and an American Staffordshire Terrier in Hoppers Crossing, before a 23-year-old man was attacked by the same pair just a few doors down.
19 April 2010
A three-year-old girl was taken to hospital with serious injuries to her hip, abdomen and leg after being attacked playing in a neighbour's backyard in Taree, NSW.
23 March 2010
A 67-year-old grandmother had her arm savaged by her pit bull cross so badly it needed to be amputated.
23 Dec 2009
A 61-year-old man was attacked by two pit bulls in Albanvale, leading to six pit bull terriers being seized in Melbourne's west.
22 Oct 2009
A Torquay teenager was cut and bruised defending her Maltese Terrier from a pit bull-mastiff that set upon them on the beach.
18 Oct 2009
An American pit bull attacked a Reservoir man and the two dogs he was walking, savaging his hand, killing one dog and injuring the other. The pit bull was put down at the scene.
28 Dec 2007
A nine-week-old girl was dragged from her cot and mauled to death by a rottweiler in Pakenham.
Should pit bulls be banned? Vote in our poll, have your say below or use the Twitter hashtag #banthebreed
