A Sydney dad who was mauled by three of his own dogs has been identified as father-of-three, Graeme Harper.
Emergency services were called to the 54-year-old’s family home on Kildare Road in Blacktown, in the city’s west, about 11am on Thursday following reports of a dog attack.
Officers from Blacktown Police Area Command found Mr Harper suffering horrific injuries inside after he was attacked by three Bull Arabs, which are a powerful crossbreed of English bull terriers, greyhounds and German shorthaired pointer.
Police held bloodstained white sheets as he was brought out the home on a stretcher to shield him from view.
A CareFlight helicopter was initially dispatched to the scene, but he was instead transferred to an ambulance and taken to Westmead Hospital by road.
Mr Harper was reportedly suffering severe injuries and major blood loss, but the Daily Mail understands he checked out of hospital later on Thursday.
It is alleged he was running an unregistered dog breeding business.
His wife told media she was ‘shocked’ by the attack.
Graeme Harper, 54, was attacked by three of his own dogs on Thursday. He is pictured holding another dog
Pictured: Police holding a blood-stained sheet while Mr Harper was loaded into an ambulanceÂ
Animal control workers struggled to remove the dogs from the scene due to their size and weight
A female neighbour told the Daily Mail the dogs were ‘constantly escaping’.
‘We have taken a few of them to the vet when we found them wandering,’ she said.
‘The two I’ve seen were all skin and bone and very nervous, especially around fast movements – even petting them, they were unsure of.’
The situation unfolded when larger dogs started attacking smaller dogs on the property.
Six dogs were retrieved from the home by animal control officers who struggled to manage them due to their size and weight.
One large black dog had to be controlled by three officers as it was walked to the back of a van. Others were carried out in bedsheets after they were shot with sedatives by Blacktown Council staff.
‘Council is assisting NSW Police with its investigation,’ a council spokesman said.
‘At the request of the owners, three dogs, believed to be of the cross Bull Arab type, were voluntarily surrendered to council and have been euthanised.
Graeme Harper (pictured) is understood to have been an unregistered dog breeder
Neighbours said Mr Harper’s dogs often escaped from the home in BlacktownÂ
‘Council is committed to community safety and will continue to support police as enquiries continue.’
Several shocked neighbours watched on from the street as the situation unfolded with some sharing accounts of the dogs’ past aggression.
Some said the dogs were known to fiercely bark at passing pedestrians and one claimed to have seen a dog from the property wandering the street without a collar.
A CareFlight helicopter was initially dispatched, but he was later transported by road.
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Horrific new details emerge as the identity of dad-of-three who was savagely mauled by his own three dogs is revealed