A woman lost her arm in a dog attack in Townsville, Queensland. The dog was euthanized, and the woman is in a critical but stable condition.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] 34-year-old Australian woman is in a critical condition after losing her arm in a dog attack in Townsville, Queensland. Police euthanized the dog.

A 34-year-old woman is in a critical but stable condition after her right arm was severed below the elbow in a dog attack in Townsville, north Queensland, early Friday morning.

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Emergency services arrived at the scene around 07:00 local time, finding the woman with life-threatening injuries. Paramedics retrieved her detached limb and rushed her to a nearby hospital.

Police were forced to shoot the dog, believed to be a pit bull, as it exhibited aggressive behaviour when officers arrived.

Senior Sergeant Scott Warrick described the scene as “very angry, very aggressive,” and noted that officers applied a makeshift tourniquet and performed first aid before paramedics arrived.

Warrick, a 37-year police veteran, expressed shock at the severity of the woman’s injuries, calling them “absolutely awful.”

The dog was euthanized following advice from animal control, while a second, smaller dog was unharmed and is being cared for by the RSPCA. Neighbours revealed that the dog had a history of aggression, with one showing scars from a prior attack.

Local authorities, police, and the RSPCA are investigating the incident, focusing on any previous complaints regarding the dog’s behaviour.

The attack comes just a day after a similar incident in Melbourne, where police shot dead three dogs, including bulldogs and a pit bull, after a woman was critically injured.