Attacked by dogs

By Tania Martin
REBEKAH Shing is lucky to be alive following an early morning dog attack and now fears for the safety of her two young children.
The Patch woman was feeding her ducks and chooks at her Priors Road home, when she noticed two ‘aggressive looking’ dogs in her back yard, shortly after 10am on Sunday.
“I yelled out for them to go home,” Ms Shing said.
What she didn’t know was the dogs had already mauled and killed the family goat.
“I saw them coming towards me and I couldn’t see our goat,” Ms Shing said.
“I realised they were about to attack me … I screamed.”
She started slowly stepping back towards the chook pen but wasn’t fast enough.
“One of them bit me on the leg … it was only lucky I was close enough to the chookhouse,” Ms Shing said.
The dogs had managed to rip through the two pairs of pants Ms Shing was wearing, leaving a small flesh wound.
“I just thought oh my God, I am going to be ripped apart by these dogs … it’s amazing I had time to even think,” she said.
Ms Shing said it was lucky the chook pen was behind her because the house was too far away to run to safety.
“It’s about 30 metres away and I was in gumboots and it was really slippery…there’s no way I would have made it,” she said.
Once inside the safety of the chook pen, the frightened mother of two started screaming for her partner, Roger Fleisher, who was inside the house asleep.
“I was too scared to come out at that time,” Ms Shing said.
The dogs then ran off and Mr Fleisher went to investigate further and found the family goat, Hendrick had been killed.
Ms Shing said it was lucky her 18-month-old son wasn’t with her.
“He’s usually down at the chook pen before I get there,” she said.
Shire of Yarra Ranges local laws executive officer, Greg Talbot said rangers had visited the scene and taken DNA samples from the goat.
He said witness statements would be taken over the next few days and investigations were continuing.
Mr Talbot said if the dogs could be identified it was likely the owner would face prosecution.
Penalties for a dog attack could range up to $2000 and costs could be awarded against the owner.
The owner may also incur other fines including pound holding fees.
“Dog attacks are taken very seriously by the council and in addition to potentially having their dogs put down, owners can receive substantial financial penalties,” Mr Talbot said.
Ms Shing believes the dogs live in her street and is scared for her family and others residents lives.
“I have lived here 10 years and nothing like this has every happened – I always felt safe,” Ms Shing said.
But now she is concerned for other kids and animals in the area.