‘No one cared about me’: Sunbury dog owner claims she ‘saved’ woman allegedly attacked by her three dogs

The owner of the three dogs that allegedly mauled a woman in Sunbury claims she ran to “save” the victim, and says she hasn’t slept since the incident.

A photo uploaded to a Sunbury Community Facebook group of three dogs on the loose on Thursday afternoon.

The remorseful owner of a group of dogs who alleged mauled a woman walking her baby in a pram has apologised but has sensationally taken credit for “saving” the injured victim.

The 35-year-old woman was rushed to The Alfred hospital on Friday afternoon after she was allegedly mauled by a pack of three dogs in Sunbury.

The victim, who was seriously injured, was knocked to the ground but managed to protect her baby in the pram as she was under attack.

Her child was not injured but the woman remained in a stable condition on Saturday afternoon.

A young mum after the mauling. Picture: 7News

Friday’s attack came just a day after a 71-year-old woman was allegedly attacked by what neighbours claim are the same dogs.

The three animals were seized by local council officers and have since been euthanised.

The owner of the three dogs on Saturday apologised for letting her dogs Cooter, Brindle and another puppy escape from her Withers Close home in Sunbury.

The owner, who wished not to be identified, says she doesn’t understand how the three dogs escaped from her yard.

She said she ran to “save” the victim after hearing her terrified screams for help.

“I just really pray for the woman and I hope that she can forgive me and remember that I did save her, I saved her,” she said.

“I’m proud of myself for that … I put my body over hers, it got blood all over me.

“I don’t even remember going to sleep, I was in shock myself but no one cared about me, no one cared about me.

“I’m praying for the victim … I’m sorry to the public, I’m sorry for the community, it’s broken my heart into pieces, it really has.”

The owner of the dogs is unsure how her pets escaped her home. Picture: 7News

Cooter is eight years old and her puppies, Brindle and another dog, are seven months old.

The woman said they “don’t usually” jump over the fence and was struggling to understand how they escaped.

“How did (the fence) get ripped down? I don’t understand it,” she asked.

“I keep thinking ‘how did they get out’.”

But she potentially faces a huge fine from the Hume City Council and, if her dogs were previously declared “dangerous” or “menacing”, she could face criminal charges.

“(The owner) may be charged under the Crimes Act and face possible imprisonment of five or 10 years jail,” Animal Welfare Victoria says.

Furious Sunbury residents have told the Sunday Herald Sun that the dogs have been responsible for other attacks on children nearby.

Sunbury local Stephanie Amici-Limco’s three young children were riding their bikes in the surrounding streets before at least one of the dogs began chasing them.

Ms Amici-Limco’s children, aged seven, nine and 12, were forced to flee as the dog was “nipping at the pedals” of the bikes six weeks ago.

The pets were seized by the local council. Picture: 7News

She said her children were left distraught and were only saved by a neighbour who resorted to slamming the bike on the footpath to scare the animal away.

The children are now too scared to ride their bikes anywhere out of fear of being attacked again.

Ms Amici-Limco said Friday’s brutal attack “scared the shit out of me” as she realised how lucky her three children were to escape physically unharmed.

“It chased them down and it made them fall off their bikes, they scared it away but it kept on chasing them,” Ms Amici-Limco told the Sunday Herald Sun.

“My daughter said it was nipping at the pedals as she was riding and it was chasing them.

“They slammed the bikes down but it kept coming at her.

“A man then came out and scared them away by slamming the bike on the ground.”

Stephanie says her kids, Bonnie, 12, Freddie, 7, and Luna, 9, were chased by the same dogs. Picture: Tony Gough

Another local said one of the barking dogs ran at her five-year-old son just two weeks ago.

“When my son screamed, the owner must have heard him because she called for the dog and it went back to its house. She had no idea where the dog was, that thing is vicious,” she said.

“We were very lucky it didn’t attack him … After I saw (Friday’s attack) I realised how lucky we were that no one was hurt.”

Other neighbours said they had been in constant contact with the council about the animals and believe something could have been done sooner before the alleged attacks.

“So, there was a mother and three pups,” they said. “One of the pups was an escape artist, which got out, and would menace people and come and bark at them.

“So that was reported to the council, and then that dog ended up being tied up.

“But then the mother and the other two pups recently started escaping as a group and then just running around the streets and annoying people.

“This was reported to the council, as well. Unfortunately, that’s resulted in two attacks in recent days, which is a very, very sad situation.

“It’s easy to say in hindsight more could have been done, but certainly it should have been.

“I had personally sent two photographs myself and my wife’s made probably half a dozen phone calls, and that’s just this house.”

Stephanie says her kids were riding their bikes in the surrounding streets before at least one of the dogs began chasing them. Picture: Tony Gough

The couple had even contacted the council on Thursday morning when they saw the dogs on the loose, before they attacked an elderly woman on Heysen Drive.

“I did ring on Thursday morning, before everything kicked off and the Ranger came down, did a loop and left,” they said. “But if he had actually gotten out of the car, I’m sure he would have found them.

The neighbours have had several encounters with the dogs themselves, and even have photos of the animals aggressively barking at their door as they’ve followed them inside.

“They’d run at me aggressively and bark at me and I backed away so they couldn’t do any damage,” he said. “It was a disaster waiting to happen and I tried really hard to warn the council.”

Hume City Council has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as ‘No one cared about me’: Sunbury dog owner claims she ‘saved’ woman allegedly attacked by her three dogs