Sydney attack dog's fate unknown

Police and councillors are still deciding whether to put down a dog which bit off part of a five-year-old girl's nose in Sydney's west.

The young girl was mauled by the Bull Arab-Great Dane cross in the front yard of a Pendle Hill home on Thursday night.

Most of her nose was ripped off during the attack and she suffered several cuts to her face.

The girl is believed to have undergone surgery to reattach her nose at The Children's Hospital in Westmead, where she remains in a stable condition.

Police have launched a joint investigation with Holroyd City Council and it's not yet known what will happen to the dog.

Officers said they believed some food around the animal may have contributed to the attack.