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A Mandurah Santa Claus who has brought cheer to children for 20 years will miss the lead up to Christmas after he was mauled by a dog in Dawesville. On December 4, Brian Dillon, 75, and his friend, Lance, were fishing in Dawesville, before heading back to the boat ramp. Mr Dillon said Lance went to get the car, while he stood on the jetty, waiting to direct his friend who would reverse towards the boat. While he was waiting, Mr Dillon said it was hard to ignore two bullmastiffs in the back of a nearby ute "going ballistic". Read more: "I wasn't too concerned, because they looked restrained," he said. But, moments later, Mr Dillon said he was knocked off the jetty onto the concrete boat ramp, falling 1.5 metres after one of the dogs attacked him. "I cracked my shoulder in two places," he said. "I was lucky I didn't hit my head on the concrete." Mr Dillon said the owner came over shortly after and restrained their dog, but he does not remember much due to the fall. Mr Dillon spent five days in hospital, but was still in serious pain a week later. He said it would take him up to three months to recover fully. Mr Dillon said he was disappointed he would be unable to fulfill his Santa duties, something he looked forward to all year. "I do Santa every year for places around the joint," he said. "They always want me down here because they reckon I'm the best Santa they've ever had. "I get a lot of accolades and compliments from people." Mr Dillon said he was asked to work at Mandurah Harvey Norman this weekend, in a sling. "I think I will do it," he said. "I love entertaining the kids. That's the best part about the job." A City of Mandurah spokeswoman said the alleged offending dog was identified by rangers shortly after they were advised of the attack. "Rangers are continuing to investigate the full circumstances of incident," she said. "The Dog Act 1976 sets out the fines that can be applied to relevant offences, and at the current time it is not appropriate to speculate on the outcome." The spokeswoman said the City's approach to reducing dog attacks included both education and enforcement elements. "The City has increased proactive patrols of all public areas including streets, beaches and reserves and has significantly increased enforcement action over the past 12 months," she said. "Evidence relating to dog attacks must be adequate to pursue enforcement action, whether that be infringement, or prosecution." The spokeswoman encouraged the community to report wandering dogs, which she said contributed to 90 per cent of dog attacks in the City.

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