A Perth, Australia, man was attacked by his own dog, but horrified neighbors were able to stop the animal by hitting it with a shovel.
Roy Santamaria, 49, was attacked by his bull mastiff cross this week, according to 7 News. He had been trying to get the 3-year-old dog back into his home after it escaped outside.
“He had big chunks taken out of his arm, blood all over his face,” one witness said about the attack. “He had blood all over him.”
Nearby witnesses saw it unfold, and they used a shovel to get the dog, Bronx, to let go.
Santamaria was taken to Royal Perth Hospital and was treated for bite marks and injuries to his chest and face.
The dog was nabbed by rangers from the Town of Victoria Park and are investigating, as reported by The West Australian newspaper.
It was reported that the incident marks the first time Santamaria was mauled by his dog.
Bronx was signed over to the local council which has the authority to put the animal down. They will give Santamaria a three-day “cooling off” period to decide if he wants Bronx put down.
Bullmastiffs are a large breed of dog, weighing as much as 130 pounds. According to website Bullmastiff Training, the dogs usually have “a very pleasant nature, and it is generally passive unless aggravated.”
According to a report from The Daily Beast, citing a report from Merritt Clifton—the editor of Animal People—bullmastiffs are the fifth-most dangerous breed of dog in the United States. He “allies the total attacks by dogs kept as pets from 1982 to 2009 in the U.S. and Canada,” the report said.
A Bullmastiff is shown at the dog competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show February 16, 2010 in New York. A 5-year-old boy was reportedly killed by a Bullmastiff in Arkansas this week. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
The report stated that there have been 17 child victims, 20 adult victims, 26 maimings, and eight deaths as a result of bullmastiff attacks.
Pit bulls were ranked as the most dangerous breed of dog, according to the report. They were responsible for 661 child victims, 519 adult victims, 819 maimings, and 159 deaths.
In 2014, a New Jersey boy was killed after a bullmastiff escaped its home in Paterson before attacking the child as he walked home from school.
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