Four Dogs Pull Man Off Mobility Scooter

[Redsonic]

This happened in a semi-rural area near the Gold Coast (Mt Tamborine). Poor guy is stable in intensive care.

The news says the dogs are going to be euthanased. Sad for everyone

Gold Coast Bulletin

A TAMBORINE resident has had to use his car as a battering ram against a pack of vicious dogs which mauled a “terrified” man with cerebral palsy yesterday.

Despite the intervention, 23-year-old victim Jack Appleby is in hospital with severe punctures after being dragged from his mobility scooter by four crazed dogs.

His terrifying encounter could have been even worse if the neighbour known only as Trevor hadn’t rammed the dogs with his car to keep the animals at bay until police arrived.

Mr Appleby was riding his scooter along an easement beside Tamborine Mountain Road at Tamborine Village about 1.45pm yesterday when he was dragged to the ground by the pack of dogs which had escaped a nearby yard.

His neighbour Trevor saw the drama unfolding out his front window and rushed to help, grabbing his car keys and ramming the dogs to keep them off Mr Appleby, who’d had his clothing literally ripped to shreds.

Too frightened to confront the dogs on foot, Trevor continually rammed the dogs and kept them from further attacks on a distraught Mr Appleby until help arrived.

Mr Appleby, who regularly rides his mobility scooter down the dusty stretch of road, was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital suffering severe puncture wounds, but last night he was in a stable condition.

Four dogs - three Rottweilers and a Rottweiler cross - were seized by animal control officers from Scenic Rim Regional Council and face destruction.

Trevor yesterday shrugged off suggestions his heroic actions had saved Mr Appleby’s life.

“I had to do something, but I felt so helpless,” he said.

“It was horrible. I feel terrible for the poor guy. He was just petrified.”

Trevor said he kept wedging his car between Jack, lying prone on the ground, and the dogs.

“I kept getting my car in between in them to keep them off him. You could see his clothes were ripped to shreds and he had puncture wounds.

“I just hope he recovers.”

His Toyota Camry also had war wounds from when the dogs turned their vicious intent to the car.

The dogs’ owner, Lee Fone told the Bulletin he was devastated: “I’m gutted to lose the dogs, but it’s the only thing to do.

“They’ve never attacked anyone before, but I’ve got young grandchildren so I would never want to see something like this happen to anybody else. I just hope the young kid is okay.”

Mr Fone said he had tried to fence every corner of the semi-rural property and even had electric fencing installed in parts, but the dogs had crawled through a gap.

“They see him going up and down the road all the time,” he said.

“They would always bark but that was about it. They were all puppies when I got them.”

Mr Fone said he would not fight any destruction order by the council.

Tamborine Mountain Police are also investigating.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Redsonic

[Salukifan]

Words fail me. That poor man.

[Simply Grand]

God, that's horrible.

I really wish there could be some kind of investigation into why this happened, yet another attack where the dogs' owner says they've never attacked before.

[Little Gifts]

Horrific. I've never thought of using my car in an instance like that but how could you not do something? He is very lucky to have survived that physically. Mental recovery will be another thing.

[VizslaMomma]

Flippin' Heck.

Horrendous.

[persephone]

[Amax-1]

The dog owners are at fault in this incident 100%

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Jesus, if you've got dogs like that FFS keep them in.

[Amax-1]

Jesus, if you've got dogs like that FFS keep them in.

It's territorial pack drive kicking in again where the dogs see no boundaries and own the world before them. The owner would be aware of their dog's demeanour making extra vigilance required to ensure they are kept it.

[Staffyluv]

How horrible, the poor guy. I hope he is OK.

Quick thinking by the neighbour using his car to keep the dogs at bay.

The owner says that the dogs had seen him for ages and only ever barked..

You have to wonder, why they decide to go further this one time..

[hankdog]

Maybe four dogs just feeding off each other's excitement. Well done to the neighbour, I wouldn't have thought to get the car either. Going to be hard for either of them to get those images out of their minds.

[raz]

Poor man. Thankgod for the fast thinking neighbour.

[Loving my Oldies]

The fear and horror experienced by that young man are just unimaginable. The neighbour, too, must have been pretty desperate - he certainly saved the young man's life.

As for the dogs and their owner: well the owner did everything he thought was necessary and to start blaming him, I think, is pointless and non productive.

What needs to be understood, in my opinion and based on just a little bit of experience, is that we underestimate the power of "pack mentality". It exists in all animals including humans. In a pack, humans are capable of unspeakable savagery and humans are supposed to be civilised. I would say that that is far from the case.

Any owner of multiple dogs will have the experience of "good" dogs learning bad behaviours from "bad" dogs.

We will never know what set these dogs off when they'd seen the young man on his scooter countless times through their lives from puppyhood. The tension in just one of them could have been building and on this particular occasion, it reached breaking point and led the others to do what they did.

We have all seen dogs who go mental at the sight of a skateboarder and, conversely, other who take not the slightest bit of notice. We need to learn what are the triggers in our dogs and do our best to neutralise them.

I can go only on what I've read here, but I would say that the owner of the dogs never for a moment thought his dogs would have been capable of what they did. He is in as much shock as anyone.

Blessing to the young man that he makes a full recovery and once again gains the courage to assert his independence.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I do blame the owner in this case, says he "tried to fence every part of the property ... but the dogs had crawled through a gap".

"Tried to" isn't stating that secure fencing was achieved and although difficult on acreage, if you want to have dogs that can't get out, then you have to deal with every possibility - gaps, low parts and so on.

[Pjrt]

I do blame the owner in this case, says he "tried to fence every part of the property ... but the dogs had crawled through a gap".

"Tried to" isn't stating that secure fencing was achieved and although difficult on acreage, if you want to have dogs that can't get out, then you have to deal with every possibility - gaps, low parts and so on.

I agree!

They had four large dogs. "tried to" doesn't go close to good enough.I don't care if they had four chihuahua or four huge dogs.....ALL dogs deserve nothing short of completely foolproof containment, for their safety, and the safety of the community AND FOR THE SAKE OF RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS EVERYWHERE........ Not dodgy arse "tried to" .

I am so angry that these things keep happening due to lax standards by pet owners. That poor poor man.

Edited July 13, 2014 by GrufLife

[Little Gifts]

Knowing that area I was thinking about the fencing issue. Big dogs need more space to run in and their strength means they need more substantial fencing, particularly if they make efforts to escape using their brute strength. Their size also means they need bigger holes to escape from and they potentially do more damage if they do attack. Smaller dogs need less space, lighter but still secure fencing, much smaller holes to escape from but if they bit in the wrong place could still cause serious injury. So keeping all that in mind, your fence needs to match your dogs capabilities. And if you are going to own four strong, large breed dogs it is going to cost you quite a bit more to securely fence what should be quite a large yard. Did you think about that before you got four? Do you really need four large breed dogs? Particularly if you can't afford the right kind of fencing to keep them and the community safe?

Same as always, this all boils down to personal responsibility by humans.

[Simply Grand]

Exactly LG. I'd love to add a Rotti to my pack right now but I don't have the space or money to properly and suitably contain one...therefore I can't have one!

[GeckoTree]

Terrifying, good on the neighbor for most probably saving this mans life!

[frufru]

Couldn't agree more - the fencing was not adequate to contain 4 large, strong dogs. Owner's description of the fencing makes it sound rather ad hoc. If you can't afford the fencing - don't get the dogs or if you are a renter and the fencing is not adequate - don't get the dogs - simple really isn't it!!!!!

[grumpette]

Couldn't agree more - the fencing was not adequate to contain 4 large, strong dogs. Owner's description of the fencing makes it sound rather ad hoc. If you can't afford the fencing - don't get the dogs or if you are a renter and the fencing is not adequate - don't get the dogs - simple really isn't it!!!!!

What an utterly terrifying experience for the young man on the scooter and the neighbour. An experience that neither of them should have had to go through. I truly hope that both men recover fully both physically and mentally. I really hope that the young man regains his independence.

The owner is totally at fault. The dogs should have been %110 contained by physical barriers equivalent to their strength and determination. The increased reliance on electric containment of large dogs in rural areas is alarming and a sign of lazy owners. Even people who rent can improve the fencing to contain their dogs. Most landlords will see it as a property improvement. Yes, you have to pay for it, but what price for the safety of the dog/s that you choose to have as part of your family.