Condell Park dog attack: Inside the fight to save cleaner Lynda Dowell as she is viciously mauled by an American Pit Bull Terrier
- Woman mauled by dog at property in Condell Park
- ‘Aggressive’ animal has since been put down
EXCLUSIVE
A female cleaner savagely mauled by a dog while working at a suburban home was saved by tradies pelting it with rocks and a garbage bin before police Tasered the ‘aggressive’ pet.
Lynda Dowell, 52, turned up to a home on Warburton Street in Condell Park, in Sydney’s south-west, shortly before 1pm on Tuesday to clean when she was suddenly set upon by the property owner’s pet.
The canine, believed to be an American Pit Bull Terrier, bit her relentlessly on the chest and limbs.
A group of tradesmen working nearby heard Ms Dowell screaming and rushed over to save her from the terrifying attack, throwing what was available at hand – a bin and rocks – at the canine before cops arrived.
Ms Dowell was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition, while the dog was removed from the scene by council handlers and then euthanised.
Lynda Dowell (pictured) was mauled by a dog while cleaning a property in south-west Sydney on Tuesday
Dog handlers are pictured removing the animal from the property on Tuesday
Ms Dowell is a mother and animal lover herself, with her social media accounts filled with pictures of her pet dog Marshall, and cat Bella.
‘Sending you lots of love and strength aunty,’ her niece Kiara wrote online.
‘Hope you have a quick recovery!’
Distressing footage from the scene showed two officers standing behind a wall as onlookers shouted at them to take action.
‘It needs to stop now, you’ve got to get her out of there, mate,’ yelled one tradie who was watching from behind a fence.
Seconds later, an officers fired a taser. The animal then started barking as someone shouted: ‘Where’s the ambulance?’
Emergency crews arrived a short time later.
Witnesses said there was little that could be done to help the stricken woman until police arrived.
‘Two tradesmen actually pulled up and were helping, but they just couldn’t stop the dog attacking the woman,’ neighbour Peter Burzynski told the Daily Telegraph.
One of the men who ran to the woman’s aid, who identified himself only as Mohamad, said such dangerous animals should not be allowed.
‘I started throwing rocks at it, I threw a crowbar at it, throwing little concrete slabs at it, threw a garbage bin at it and the dog wouldn’t move. He kept sitting on the floor and (mauling the woman),’ he said.
‘That dog shouldn’t be out in the public, especially a dog like that. We’ve all got kids, it could’ve been any of our kids, could’ve been our mums, our wives, anybody.’
Ms Dowell suffered ‘multiple bites’ to her chest and arms in the terrifying attack
The woman in her thirties was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition (pictured: the dog is taken away)
A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said ‘multiple crews attended the scene’.
‘They assessed and treated a woman in her thirties for multiple dog bites to her chest and limbs,’ the spokesperson said.
‘She was then transported to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.’
A City of Canterbury Bankstown spokesman said: ‘After assessing the dog, it is clear it could not be rehabilitated and has since been euthanised.’
A spokesperson for NSW Police said: ‘About 12.50pm today (Tuesday 6 February 2024), emergency services were called to Warburton Street, Condell Park, following reports of a dog attack.
‘Bystanders attempted to intervene, before police from Bankstown Police Area Command discharged a Taser to stop the attack.
‘A woman was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition.’
Read more