Elderly Melbourne woman critical after dog attack

An elderly woman is fighting for life after she was mauled by her son's dog minutes after she found him dead in their Melbourne home.

The 80-year-old's condition has been upgraded to critical after she was rushed to The Alfred with serious injuries following the attack on Sunday morning.

Nadia Apler found her son Hassan unresponsive in their Hampton Park house just after 9am and ran to get help.

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She returned to the house with her 78-year-old neighbour Bill and the pair were attacked by one of her son's four American Staffordshire Terriers.

The dog then charged at police who rushed to the scene.

Capsicum spray did nothing to stop the animal, leading to police shooting it dead.

Officers found Ms Apler's arm was almost severed, while her neighbour had injuries to his arms and legs.

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Her son's death was not suspicious, or linked to the dog.

Ms Apler's second son, who has an acquired brain injury, was trapped inside his room during the attack.

Police helped free him.

Bill was in a stable condition at Dandenong Hospital last night.

Three other dogs were taken from the home and are expected to be put down.

Neighbours told 9News they were wary of the dogs because of their aggressive nature.

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