Dec. 3 (UPI) — A man reading meters for Australian energy company Energex was killed after being attacked by multiple dogs while working on Saturday, officials said.
The 42-year-old was checking meters when he was attacked at a home in the suburban city of Greenbank, Queensland, south of Brisbane.
Emergency crews were called about the attack at 10:45 a.m.
Paramedics found the man unconscious in the front yard suffering from critical injuries. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Police later found the three dogs inside the yard and handed them over to animal-control officers.
The dogs were reportedly of the Bull Arab breed, a hybrid dog with ancestry linked to the English Bull Terrier and several others. A description of the breed says it can become aggressive and be difficult to socialize and train.
The home has now been declared a crime scene.
Work Safe Australia is taking over the investigation, in conjunction with the coroner.
No criminal charges had been laid in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
“The matter has already been reported to Work Safe and they’ll run a parallel investigation with us as well,” said Queensland Police Service Acting Inspector Gary Worrell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“Energex has a very good system where they email and communicate with the owners of known places where dogs are used for the protection of family homes or where they know there’s aggressive dogs,” he said.
“I believe that is the case before a contract goes to one of these residences or businesses so the dogs can be put away.”
