A Coodanup resident said from now on she would carry a steel bar for protection, after what she describes as a "horrific" dog attack just metres from her front door.
Phillis Bickley, 74, said it was a "bloody nightmare" when a dog allegedly struck her down and bit her wrist on October 31.
Ms Bickley said the dog attacked her while she was walking her maltese shih tzu called Oshie when the incident happened.
Ms Bickley said when she bent down to pick Oshie up, the dog pounced.
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The pensioner said the attack has scarred her emotionally as well as physically.
“I can’t sleep. I just keep seeing these teeth,” she said.
“There was blood everywhere after the attack. It was all over me and my dog.
“I just keep crying, I even wake up crying.
“It’s like living next door to a murder, you never no when its going to strike.
“I’m terrified. I’m petrified to go outside my own house.”
After the attack Ms Bickley was taken to the Peel Health Campus before being referred to Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth.
Ms Bickley has sought counselling following the attack.
“It has taken a lot out of me,” she said.
Ms Bickley has called for stricter outcomes for dog owners in the case of an attack.
She said the dog should immediately be removed from owners following an attack and should only be returned if deemed acceptable after a thorough investigation.
“I’m not asking for the dog to be put down, I just don’t want it to be next door,” she said.
The City of Mandurah’s website states that dog attacks are a serious matter and that all facts would need to be considered before determining the outcome.
City rangers are investigating the attack and will consider the severity of the attack and the circumstances leading to the attack, whether there is any known previous history of attack by the offending dog and the willingness of victim and witnesses to attend if the matter proceeds to court.
Under the Dog Act 1976 heavy penalties of up to $10,000 may be imposed following dog attacks.
