Jack Russell dies after dog attack as GoFundMe reaches milestone

Police said they were called to Georges River, south of Sydney, and found Elle Booth and her mauled pet stuck in the mudflats with the attacking dogs circling.

A crowd-funding page, which reached the $25,000 target in one day, detailed how Ms Booth protected her injured dog from the attackers for 20 minutes while waiting for help.

"Elle stood in neck deep mud holding Indi above, trying to clear Indi's airway of mud, and continuing to hold the larger dogs off," the crowd-funding page said.

Police used pepper spray to subdue the two larger dogs and they bolted from the scene.

Ms Booth said the dogs' owner left the river bank after he blew a whistle that distracted the dogs momentarily.

Police and Georges River rangers seized two dogs from a nearby home and the council is investigating potential breaches of the Companion Animals Act.

"Georges River Council acknowledges incidents of this nature are very upsetting for everyone in our community," a council spokesperson said.

"Residents are reminded to exercise responsible pet ownership to ensure the safety of our community and the wellbeing and safety of their pets by always walking their dog on a leash, unless in an authorised off-leash area."

Georges River Council is asking any witnesses for details to help with the investigation.

IN OTHER NEWS:

A crowd-funding page set a target of $25,000 to cover Indi's vet bills and, at the time of publication, had received almost $28,000.

Ms Booth is recovering from "serious" injuries but is in a stable condition, emergency services said.

Unfortunately Indi the Jack Russell died after suffering three heart attacks on July 10.

"Any amount raised over and above will be used as contributions to future pet owners who can't afford to pay for their pets medical bills," the crowd-funding page said.

The NSW government releases quarterly dog attack statistics.

Since mid-2020 there were between 1000-1300 attacks reported each quarter.

Between January and March 2023 NSW registered 1163 dog attacks.

This includes 624 attacks on adults, 109 attacks on victims under 16 years and 599 attacks on other dogs.

NSW classifies a dog attack as an incident where a dog rushes at, bites, harasses or chases any person or animal (other than vermin), whether or not any injury is caused to the person or animal.