Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
NT woman loses arm after dog attack
A woman’s arm has been surgically amputated after she was mauled by a dog in the Northern Territory.
April 12, 2022
Doctor’s have amputated a woman’s arm after she was mauled by a dog in the Northern Territory and suffered “horrific” injuries.
The 60-year-old was attacked about 2am on Sunday in Palmerston, 20km south of Darwin, sustaining “life-altering” injuries to both arms.
“Obviously horrific injuries, a lot worse than I imagined,” St John Ambulance NT operations manager Craig Garraway told ABC Darwin on Tuesday.
“The people who made the triple-zero call didn’t exaggerate. The injuries were really severe.
“It was quite obvious there had been multiple major trauma to those arms. The patient had lost a lot of blood.”
Mr Garraway said it would have been “horrific” for the woman’s family as they waited for emergency services to arrive.
Paramedics stabilised the woman and she was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital’s trauma unit for surgery.
“She has one arm amputated and they’re working on the other arm,” Mr Garraway said.
An “aggressive” dog at the house has been surrendered to council rangers.
A second dog on the property that was showing signs of aggression was also seized.
The dog breed is not known and police say they’re investigating the matter.
“This is a terrible incident and a woman has suffered life-altering injuries,” police commander Sachin Sharma said on Monday.
“At this stage we have not charged anybody.”
The woman is in a serious but stable condition.