The family of a 78-year-old woman attacked by a poodle in Sandy Bay is concerned the dog may be back on the street

An elderly woman has had her leg mauled in a shocking dog attack while walking along a Hobart street. See the graphic pictures. WARNING: Disturbing content

Jane Clarke on a footpath in Gregory St, Sandy Bay, where her elderly mother was viciously attacked by a dog last week. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

THE family of an elderly woman horribly injured in a dog attack in Sandy Bay want assurances the dog will not be let back on the street.

The 78-year-old victim remains in hospital and has undergone two skin graft surgeries on her injured leg.

Jane Clarke said she had been walking in Sandy Bay with her mother and sister at 12.30pm last Thursday when the attack happened.

As the group walked up Gregory St, they passed a pair of poodles tethered in the alcove of the former NAB building.

As they passed, the larger of the two dogs lunged and bit Ms Clarke’s mother on the right leg below the calf.

“It just ripped off a chunk of her leg,” she said.

The 78-year-old woman’s injured leg. Picture: Supplied

Ms Clarke said her mother was bleeding heavily from the wound, and while the group was waiting for an ambulance, the dogs’ owner returned.

She said he offered to pay any costs related to treatment.

“We went to the Council, who were initially great, but we heard [on Monday] they were going to release the dog back to the owner,” she said.

“The dog is free to roam the street.

“We live in Sandy Bay, we are going to see this guy in the future, and I just think it’s atrocious that his dog is free to roam and attack people.

“Mum’s life is changed forever. I don’t know if she will go home to live by herself or drive again.”

The 78-year-old woman’s injured leg. Picture: Supplied

A local business owner who witnessed the attack said it had been a hot day and the two poodles involved had been tied up for more than an hour with no water.

“It was really quite savage. The dog didn’t just go once, he went a couple of times. And that’s why the injury is so ugly,” she said.

“That was a grown lady’s leg. I’d hate to think if it was a little toddler.”

Hobart City Council general manager Nick Heath confirmed the attack was under investigation.

A council spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the dog’s whereabouts.

The spokeswoman referred the Mercury to a section of the Dog Control Act 2000, which says for a dog to be considered under “effective control” it must not be tethered to a fixed object for longer than 30 minutes.