A woman carried a 10-year-old boy to safety after he was mauled in a terrifying dog attack in Bellambi on Tuesday.
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"It took ages for them to get the dog off and the poor boy was screaming," neighbour Nicole Barnett told the Mercury.
Ms Barnett said she was in the front yard of her Waley Avenue home about 2pm when she heard the boy screaming.
She said the boy told her the two dogs, a German shepherd and a staffordshire terrier cross, "appeared from nowhere" after he entered a fenced property.
Ms Barnett said the boy and his brother were searching for a third brother when the dogs appeared.
She watched on as the dogs' owner beat the animals in an attempt to free the boy.
"Somehow they [the boys] came out of the gate," Ms Barnett said.
"I said to the other boy quick shut the gate because the dog's loose … it can come attack other people.
"Then I said come to my house and he said 'I can't walk' so I had to carry him in."
Ms Barnett said the boy "screamed in pain" while she called an ambulance.
"He was very traumatised," she said.
The boy's mother was notified and arrived at Ms Barnett's house shortly after the attack.
She attempted to calm the boy, who suffers from asthma.
The boy was taken to Wollongong Hospital with 20 puncture wounds to his legs, arms, hips, stomach, buttocks and head.
He was later transferred to Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick in a serious condition.
The investigation is now with the Wollongong City Council.
A council spokesman said the dogs' owners had voluntarily handed the animals over.
The dogs were expected to be put down on Wednesday.
"After the council was provided with information of the attack, council officers attended the site and seized both dogs associated with the attack," he said.
"The council had not received any earlier reports about these dogs and they were not declared dangerous."
There have been 242 reports of "attacks by dogs" from January to June this year in the Wollongong council area.
The term attack can also include if a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases any person or animal.
Ms Barnett said more needed to be done to control dangerous dogs in the area.
In September 2013, a 21-year-old man was taken to hospital after losing a "chunk" of his leg in a vicious dog attack in Bellambi.
"People shouldn't have these kind of dangerous dogs," Ms Barnett said.
"I hope something will be done about this."