A Great Dane that ripped a three-year-old boy’s ear off in a savage mauling while he was riding his bike has been put down.
Tom Higgins was collecting cans to recycle with his mother and sister in Newcastle on Tuesday when the dog named Rossco escaped from a nearby house.
The huge canine standing twice the little boy’s height charged on to the street and grabbed Tom by the neck and bit him multiple times.
A Great Dane that ripped a three-year-old boy’s ear off in a savage mauling while he was riding his bike has been put down
Tom Higgins was rushed to John Hunter Children’s Hospital with injuries to his neck, back, and ear, which was partially torn off and had to be reattached
When asked about the attack, Rossco’s owner told Seven News the dog just didn’t like bikes.
The Great Dane was voluntarily surrendered to Newcastle Council on Wednesday and put down the next day.
Tom was rushed to John Hunter Children’s Hospital with injuries to his neck, back, and ear, which was partially torn off.
The toddler had surgery to reattach his ear on Wednesday morning and was expected to make a full recovery but faced a long and painful recovery.
The huge canine standing twice the little boy’s height charged on to the street and grabbed Tom by the neck and bit him multiple times
When asked about the attack, Rossco’s owner told Seven News the dog just didn’t like bikes
Doctors were concerned bacteria from the dog’s mouth may have made its way into the wounds and could cause infection.
‘I’d say everybody is lucky in this circumstance because it hasn’t ended up worse,’ Detective Acting Inspector Jeffrey Little said.
Tom was one of four toddlers to be badly hurt in dog attacks this week including a fatal attack on a baby.
A two-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with an injured left eye after she was bitten by a dog in Coffs Harbour on the NSW Mid North Coast on Thursday.
The distressed girl was pictured being transported on a stretcher to the ambulance with her mother with blood on her face.
She was in a stable condition at the Coffs Harbour Hospital.
Tom Higgins was rushed to hospital on a stretcher where he underwent surgery on his ear
The toddler had surgery to reattach his ear on Wednesday morning and was expected to make a full recovery but faced a long and painful recovery
Kamillah Jones (pictured left) was mauled to death by an Rottweiler (pictured stock) in Inverell, northern New South Wales on Saturday
Earlier on Saturday afternoon one-year-old Kamillah Jones was mauled to death by a Rottweiler at a home in Inverell.
She died on the way to hospital despite the desperate efforts of paramedics to save her.
The dog was seized by council rangers and a NSW Police spokeswoman on Tuesday confirmed it had been put down.
On Sunday, a three-year-old girl was left with shocking injuries after a South African Boerboel attacked her in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick.
She was rushed to hospital and is lucky to be alive, according to neighbours who helped saved her.
A two-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with an injured left eye after she was bitten by a dog in Coffs Harbour on the NSW Mid North Coast on Thursday
On Sunday, a three-year-old girl was left with shocking injuries after a South African Boerboel (similar to the one pictured) attacked her in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick