Wild dog attacks get closer

Robina Todd and daughters (left) Savannah, 14, and Sophie 11 Todd, with their other dogs Bundy and Roxy the labradors and Sasha the cocker spaniel.

Jay Cronan

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THE BATTLE against wild dogs has reached the outskirts of Lismore, with a family pet in Woodlawn being savaged in a possible wild dog attack this week.

Robina Todd said her daughter's three-year-old spaniel named Snoopy was mauled on her property on Tuesday morning.

"He was alive and in shock but he couldn't move any of his legs," she said. "It was horrific."

Ms Todd said she was shocked the possible wild dog attack happened 300m from her home, opposite St Johns College Woodlawn and just a "few kilometres from town".

"Everyone should be worried; it's going to happen to a child next, I'm sure," she said.

Senior Ranger with the North Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Dean Chamberlain said it's not unusual for wild dogs to roam near Lismore and they are known to attack pet dogs.

"It's a territorial thing," he said.

"When you get dogs that are fairly like a dingo, it's about marking their territory and making sure no-one else goes near it."

James Donaldson of Keene Street Veterinary Clinic treated the spaniel, which was later put down.

He said the spaniel was "unresponsive" and it's right hind leg had been "chewed through the bone below the ankle joint."

"The injuries were consistent with a dog attack but whether it was a wild dog, one dog, two dogs, or a group of dogs I can't say," he said.

"Over the last four to six weeks we've probably treated five or six that were confirmed wild dog attacks, where people have actually seen dogs attack their dog."

The number of dog attacks has prompted Byron and Lismore councils to develop a wild dog control pilot project.

"The proposal is for a one-year project with a budget of $100,000, which includes the salary for a part-time co-ordinator," said Nick Stephens, environmental strategies co-ordinator with Lismore.

The pilot proposal would expand a trapping program in Byron Shire, along with an education program for domestic dog owners.

Both shires are awaiting a response to their proposal from Lismore MP, Thomas George.