‘Help me’: Dogs impounded after attacking Bayview boy

A quick-thinking young teen has narrowly escaped serious injury in a dog attack after jumping on top of a neighbour’s car. WATCH THE VIDEO.

A boy has narrowly escaped serious injuries after being chased by three dogs in an inner Darwin suburb.

Bayview resident Kate McCullough was home alone about 7pm on October 14 when she heard barking and a loud clunk.

Fearful of intruders, she went to confront the young teen perched on the bonnet of her car.

“I went out, initially thinking it was a break-in, but then I heard the boy saying ‘help me, help me’,” Ms McCullough said.

The quick thinking boy took shelter on the top of a car.

She guessed the boy was about 13 or 14, and said he was lucky to have only been bitten on the back of his heel.

“They weren’t little dogs, there were two tan and one black (dogs), they were big,” Ms McCullough said.

She drove the boy home and saw the dogs loitering in someone’s front yard, with no owner in sight.

Just half an hour later, back in her living room, Ms McCullough heard more barking and a bloodcurdling scream.

“It was an awful noise, the screaming, pretty horrible,” she said.

She drove around to see if someone needed help, but could not find the dogs or the person behind the scream.

“A neighbour told me there was another attack on Bermingham Cres, so that may have been it … I just hope the person is okay.

“I’ve been too afraid to go for walks.”

A council spokeswoman confirmed that the dogs had been taken to the pound.

“City of Darwin received a report from NT Police regarding a dog attack in Bayview over the weekend,” she said.

“Our rangers responded immediately and collected and impounded the dogs, and they will remain impounded while an investigation takes place.”

A recent post on the Darwin Reddit discussion page complained about the number of dogs allowed to roam off lead in the Top End.

“Am I the only one that gets jumped by off lead dogs at least twice a week,” the poster asked.

“My senior dog has been fear reactive since we lived in Darwin, she got attacked by so many off lead dogs that now she just goes straight to fight to hurt them before they hurt her,” one person replied.

“Don’t get me started on this,” another replied.

“I have a small dog and walk her down Casuarina Beach, and am always having to deal with horse-sized hounds off the lead barrelling full-pelt at us … when I get upset at this, the owner always comes back with ‘but it’s the dog beach’.”