Plea to Wagga dog owners after attack in Bourkelands leaves woman with badly broken arm

Hospitality worker Kate Johnson, aged 18, was walking on Berembee Road in Bourkelands about 6.15am on Thursday when her one-year-old German Shepherd 'Bailey' was attacked by another dog.

"Out of nowhere there was a Staffy-cross that was almost as big as my German Shepherd, showed up from a front yard and started coming straight at my dog," she said.

"There was no stopping it, there was nothing I could have done. The moment it saw my dog it made a beeline for him and started attacking my dog.

"My first instinct was that I needed to get him off my dog because I was so worried, so I tried to pull my dog away so it took its jaws off my dog and bit me instead."

Miss Johnson's arm was broken in multiple places from the bite.

"In that moment I just started screaming out 'could someone help me please' and people from all directions came, I was so grateful," Miss Johnson said.

"I knew I had been bitten but I couldn't feel it as I was just so worried about my dog. There was blood everywhere, this other dog was just not going to stop."

A passer-by with a first aid kit helped bandage Miss Johnson's wounds and prevent further blood loss.

Bailey was not seriously injured during the attack but Miss Johnson was taken by ambulance to Wagga Base Hospital for surgery and now faces months of recovery time.

"It could be up to a year before I can get my arm back to where it was before, even if I can," she said.

Miss Johnson also will be unable to resume work for six weeks and will need to pay for the ambulance and possibly out-of-pocket rehabilitation.

"If you know your dog has issues, if it has a history of being aggressive, either get rid of it, tie it up or make damn sure it can't get out," she said.

Wagga City Council reported 24 dog attacks to the NSW Office of Local Government in the three months to September 30 last year.

The 24 Wagga incidents involved 19 attacks on people, including two that resulted in serious injury, and 27 attacks on animals.

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