Donna was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. She was in a stable condition on Thursday night. A next door neighbour described hearing screaming from inside the house as the dog attacked. The dog, named Junior, believed responsible for the attack. Credit:Facebook "I heard cries for help, Donna saying 'Junior let go, get off'," the neighbour said. Neighbours rushed to help by banging on the fence and spraying the dog with a hose. They were too scared to get close in case they were also attacked.

"If you or I jumped the fence I don’t think we’d be here either," the neighbour said, adding that it took rangers at least four hours to arrive after the attack. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The dog was always inside and was never walked, the neighbour said. "He tears down the blinds when someone walks past and scratches the window," the neighbour said. "It’s just a tragedy waiting to happen." Neighbours describe the vicious attack

Alex, a neighbour whose rear fence adjoins the Biancofiore's backyard, said his sister used a hose to try to distract the dog from attacking after they heard the screams for help. He said the attack, in which the dog latched on to Mr Biancofiore’s throat, went on for between 30 and 45 minutes. He was defenceless. It was vicious, it was complete kill mode. Alex, a neighbour "He was defenceless," Alex said. "It was vicious, it was complete kill mode. It was guarding him like prey."

He said that every time Mrs Biancofiore tried to protect her husband, the dog would start attacking her. At the end of it, Alex said he could barely bring himself to look at what had happened. He said he wished he would have done more to help. "There was no chance, anyone who got close was asking for it," he said. "It's hard when you have your neighbour screaming at you saying 'please help'.

"I don’t think I’ve ever come across something so vicious." The dog is led into a van following the attack. Credit:Nine Senior Sergeant Glenn Parker told reporters on Wednesday night it was believed the dog was owned by the couple's son and had been living at the home for some time. "It's an older dog, it's quite familiar with most of the members of the family and my understanding is it's quite out of character for the dog," he said. "As far as we're aware, this dog hasn't come to anyone's attention in relation to its behaviour. It's just an out of the blue attack. They've got no idea what's started it off."

Neighbours have said the man had recently been getting around in a motorised wheelchair following back problems. An SES tent was set up outside the Mill Park home on Wednesday night. Credit:Nine It is believed he was on crutches when the attack began inside the house before it spilled into the backyard. The dog remained inside the house for hours after the attack as police and Whittlesea council rangers tried to capture it. It was eventually secured and put down on the night of the attack.

A council spokeswoman said the dog was not registered in the City of Whittlesea. She also said there had been no previous reports to council about the dog. One neighbour, who had known Mr Biancofiore for 17 years, heard the shots from police. "I heard the banging two or three times, but I was in the kitchen and I thought it was on the TV," the neighbour said. "I didn’t know it was that serious but when we saw the police cars we realised it was." She said she would miss their regular chats about the soccer and the Collingwood Football Club.

"It's very sad, I didn't sleep last night," she said. "We would talk every second day when I went to Woolworths. He's always out working in the garage. He's been a very lovely person. We will miss him a lot, especially my husband. We love him." The neighbour rarely saw the dog, but said it would bark at her every time she walked by the house. Another neighbour, Carmen Baldwin, said the couple was living at the home when she moved to the area 14 years ago.