Driving through the sleepy village of Pheasants Nest, it’s difficult to believe a 54-year-old dog breeder was almost mauled to death by her beloved bullmastiff on Friday morning.
The pet – which reportedly weighed more than 80kg and was likened to the size of the Shetland pony grazing in the front paddock – sunk his teeth into the mother’s face out the front of her sprawling suburban home, an hour south-west of Sydney.
Her daughter, who is in her 20s, tried to save her mum but the vicious canine bit into her thigh so deeply that onlookers said her tendons and bones were exposed.
The beast only stopped when a brave neighbour stabbed him repeatedly with an iron bar in a move a local man said almost certainly saved her life.
When approached by Daily Mail Australia, the woman’s son screamed across the lawn that his mother was still at Liverpool Hospital and the pet in question was dead.
The female victim’s son (pictured) become angry when approached by Daily Mail Australia
Pictured: The family home in Pheasants Nest, south-west of Sydney, where a woman was almost mauled to death by her bullmastiff
Dressed in a black hoodie, he yelled ‘you’re lucky that dog’s not here,’ and gestured inside the family home where a chorus of dogs could be heard barking madly.
‘You know what happened here the other day and you want to walk in here?’ he bellowed, storming across the yard.
While it was previously reported that the family refused to hand over security footage when asked by police, the furious man claimed that was simply not true.
‘The cops wanted me to get [the footage] right then and there, but I didn’t give it to them because of what happened – I wanted to see my mum,’ he said.
‘I’ve got f***ing puppies here and I’m busy,’ he continued, referring to his family’s dog breeding business.
‘You’re f***ing lucky that dog isn’t here.’
The 54-year-old woman is still in hospital, according to her son (pictured, left and right) who is seen out the front of the family home
Bloody scenes out the front of the home (pictured) after the attack on Friday morning
Inspector Dave Williamson from Narellan Police Station later confirmed the footage had been collected for review, but said the situation was ‘extremely unfortunate’.
‘The family are dog breeders and they’ve got a reputable business, but they’re dealing with live animals and dogs are pack animals,’ he said.
‘It’s a tragic circumstance and situation.’
Initial reports said the dog was an American Staffordshire Terrier – a notoriously violent breed responsible for multiple attacks, including a tragedy in July when a five-month-old baby was mauled to death on the NSW Central Coast.
But Daily Mail Australia can now confirm the dog was in fact a bullmastiff, which can grow up to 70cm tall, weigh more than 60kg, and are traditionally kept as guard dogs.
Anyone who owns a staffy in NSW is required to report the animal to the council, ensure it’s de-sexed and display warnings out the front of their home if the pet is aggressive – but no such requirements exist for bullmastiffs.
Wollondilly Shire Council confirmed a ranger had been sent to the address and detained the dog (pictured, stock image of a bullmastiff)
The dog latched on to her face, before he lashed out at the woman’s daughter (pictured, medics working on the victims at the scene)
When asked if one of the dogs barking inside the family home was the pet that mauled his mother, the man fired up, saying: ‘No that’s not the f***ing dog.’
‘The dog’s dead.’
A petition to save the bullmastiff was created by concerned Australians on Change.com on Monday, but a spokesperson from Wollondilly Shire Council confirmed the dog was put down.
A neighbour, who did not want to be identified for fear of ramifications within the tight-knit community, told Daily Mail Australia the brave people who intervened and saved the mother’s life are struggling to cope with what they saw.
‘The people who were there on the scene are fairly traumatised by it,’ he said.
‘If it wasn’t for some people stepping in, the dog probably would have killed the woman.’
Another neighbour looked pained when she said she heard the screaming as the grizzly scene unfolded.
A heroic woman, who chose to remain anonymous, said she had driven into her driveway on Friday morning when she heard calls for help and saw the a woman being attacked in the front yard.
‘My neighbour’s daughter was there trying to stab the dog with a knife, I tried to kick the dog off, but it was latched onto her upper thigh,’ the woman told The Sunday Telegraph.
The bullmastiff was reportedly around 80kg and the size of a pony (pictured, a pony grazing on the family’s property)
The 54-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital following the horrific dog attack in the Macarthur region of Pheasants Nest on Friday morning
The neighbour searched for a hose, but instead grabbed a knife to try to cut the vicious dog’s throat to stop the attack – which was enough for the neighbour to chase the dog away, and for the woman to shout for help.
A resident who was driving by the house saw what was happening and quickly dialled triple-zero.
The neighbour and the injured daughter managed to drag the older victim to another side of the fence and lay her down, but remained concerned the dog would return and kill them.
‘I grabbed all the towels off the line to tourniquet her leg, that wound on her leg man… and the wound on her neck was so bad, I thought “I don’t want to watch her die”,’ she said.
The neighbour said while the victim’s daughter had suffered deep cuts on her leg, she was more worried for her mother.
Emergency services found the two seriously injured women at the home, while the man escaped with minor injuries (pictured, the dog being led away from the scene)
Daily Mail Australia has learnt the offending dog, which has since been put down, was a bullmastiff (stock image)
A female police officer later arrived on the scene, and the neighbour shouted: ‘Don’t come in there’s a dog that is mental, shoot it.’
The officer grabbed her gun and walked around the back, but the dog never returned.
An ambulance inspector arrived on the scene shortly after and treated the injuries suffered by the victims.
The 54-year-old woman was airlifted to Liverpool hospital, while her daughter was driven to hospital shortly after.