A pet owner has been seriously injured after being attacked by his dog that turned on him after fighting with another animal, it is reported.
Police in Australia have said they were forced to put down a doberman after it viciously attacked the owner who was trying to separate it as it scrapped with another dog.
Emergency services rushed to Flavel Crescent in the town of Jervois, South Australia after receiving reports of a dog attack just after 3pm on Wednesday.
Police reportedly had to shoot the doberman as it mauled its owner who was badly injured from the attack.
The man was first taken to Murray Bridge Hospital but then needed to be airlifted by helicopter 60 miles to Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide.
He is expected to undergo surgery surgery on Thursday for non-life threatening injuries.
Police confirmed that the doberman was put down.
“Unfortunately the dog was euthanised at the request of the municipality,” said a police spokesperson.
Dobermans, measure up to 70 centimetres, and were originally bred as guard dogs in the 1800s but now their temperament is less ferocious and they are generally seen as good companion dogs.
They are also intelligent dogs and according to canine psychologist Stanley Coren are the fifth most intelligent breed behind the border collie, poodle, German shepherd and golden retriever.
Meanwhile, a beloved family dog was killed after a thief stole the car he was sitting in and crashed it into a field, rolling it three times.
Dobermann Jake was waiting for his owner Matthew Wilson inside his Range Rover when Nicholas Oakland, 30, broke in and drove off at high speed.
Footage taken from police chase vehicles shows the moment Oakland rolled the 4x4 car three times as he tried to drive across a field.
The dog was seen escaping from the vehicle after the horror crash when officers arrived at the scene.
He was later tracked down by a police helicopter and treated by vets, but tragically he passed away a few weeks later from a spinal injury he sustained in the crash.
Oakland was jailed for 19 months and disqualified for driving for three years and nine months when he was sentenced at York Crown Court last month.