Woman in hospital after alleged dog attack in Katherine, police investigating

Police are still looking for the dog involved in a vicious attack which saw a Katherine woman’s arm ‘partially amputated’ on Thursday.

A woman’s arm was partially amputated during a dog attack in Katherine.

NT Police are working closely with Katherine rangers to locate the dog involved in a vicious attack in Katherine which saw a woman’s arm partially amputated.

It is understood the woman was walking her own small dog when the attack happened at about 4.30am on Thursday.

St John NT operations manager Craig Garraway said she would likely be flown to Darwin for treatment.

“It’s quite a horrific injury and obviously quite terrifying to be involved in,” he said.

“She’s been rushed to hospital and they’ll obviously be treating her at the moment.”

An NT Police spokesman said on Friday the dog was yet to be located, with NT Police working closely with local Katherine council rangers to locate the animal.

An NT Health spokesman said the woman was in a critical but stable condition and was expected to be transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital on Thursday morning.

NT Police Northern Watch Commander Greg Lamb said the dog was yet to be found after the “pretty bad attack”.

Investigators say the brown dog with no collar was last seen at the intersection of Lucy St and Riverbank Dr.

Sergeant Lamb said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.

“There will have to be investigations to try and identify who owns the dogs and whether it was restrained, whether someone’s opened the gate and it has got out,” he said.

Dog attacks in the NT must be reported to the local council – in this case, Katherine Town Council – as soon as possible.

All dog attacks in Katherine are investigated by the council’s rangers, and offenders could face fines of up to $600, seizure and euthanasia of the dog, regulatory orders, or dog de-registration and removal from the region.

It comes almost a year on from Darwin mum and lawyer Shauna Mounsey’s calls for tighter ownership regulations after her toddler was mauled by a dog in August last.

Ms Mounsey and her son Lloyd Jayathilaka were at a cafe year when a rottweiler at a nearby table unexpectedly launched itself at Lloyd and bit his right arm.

The puncture wounds ­required treatment at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Lloyd’s attack happened just weeks after a Palmerston woman almost lost both her arms to a vicious dog attack.

One of the 60-year-old’s arms required amputation, and doctors fought to save the second.

In another unrelated incident, a dog trainer’s staffie was due to be euthanised after it attacked a 10-year-old boy in September last year.

George Triantafilos Cotis, 22, pleaded guilty to keeping an unregistered dog and owning a dog that attacked a person.

“(The boy) crouched down to pat Leo while Leo was sitting on the floor,” City of Palmerston prosecutor James Stuchbery said.

“As (he) made contact, Leo jumped on top of (him) and began biting and scratching (him).

“Upon hearing (his) screams, (the boy’s sister) ran into the living room and sighted Leo on top of (him) with (his) head inside Leo’s mouth.”