A 67-year-old woman is fighting for her life after being mauled by her pet Rottweiler in a park in Salt Rock in the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.

Rescue officials described the scene as horrific and said it was hard to believe that a dog had caused such extensive injuries to the skin. Some parts of the pet owner’s limbs were completely stripped of skin.

“Her vascular damage is compromising her lower limbs due to blood flow complications; she has extensive damage to her left bicep‚ her left arm and left leg as well as her back and her neck‚” said Paul Herbst‚ operations manager at IPSS Medical Rescue.

The woman was walking her dogs in the park‚ which she does routinely in the mornings‚ when the animals began fighting with each other.

The woman tried to break up the fight between the Rottweiler and the Border Collie‚ when the Rottweiler turned on her.

“Luckily a neighbour heard the commotion and intervened‚” said Herbst.

The man shot the Rottweiler‚ saving the woman’s life‚ Herbst said.

“The other pet has been taken in by a local animal shelter.”