A staffordshire terrier was “going nuts” when it mauled to death a man and left a woman seriously injured in a horror attack in Melbourne.

A man has died after being mauled by a dog which also left his wife with serious injuries in Melbourne.

The victim has been identified as Leo Biancofiore, 61, with the animal, thought to be an American staffordshire terrier, the pet of his son Mark Biancofiore, 29.

The couple’s nephew last night told the Herald Sun that Mark was devastated.

“We want to let (his mother Donata) recover and give my little cousin a bit of space because he’s pretty distraught,” he said.

“My uncle loved the dog. The dog loved my uncle.

“The dog was never aggressive.”

The incident occurred in Mill Park, in the city’s northeast, about 6.30 last night.

Victoria Police said they were called to an address on Ancona Drive after reports a man, in his 60s, had been attacked by a dog.

Police opened fire at the dog to stop the attack but nonetheless it took several hours to finally capture the animal.

Mr Biancofiore’s wife Donata is being called a “hero” after she tried to fight off the dog.

One witness told the Herald Sun that during the attack, “the dog was going nuts”.

“Upon attending the address, officers located a deceased man and a woman with serious injuries,” the police said in a statement.

“Shots were fired by members to deter the dog from further attacking the woman and members and it was contained in the premises.”

A neighbour told the Herald Sun he tried to spray the dog with water to distract it after he heard screams.

“There was no stopping it. It’s a giant pit bull,” he said.

A woman in her 60s, thought to be Mr Biancofiore’s wife Donata, was also injured in the mauling, police said. She was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment where she is thought to be in a stable condition with severe injuries to her upper body.

Neighbours hailed Mrs Biancofiore’s actions: “She was the real hero. She put her life of the line. She was trying to fight him off.”

There are reports Mrs Biancofiore had been recovering from an operation and was in a motorised wheelchair.

Efforts to capture the dog proved futile until a ranger eventually subdued it about 10.30pm. In a statement, Whittlesea Council said the dog was euthanised last night.

“This is a terribly sad situation and we offer our deepest condolences to the family,” a council spokesman said.

The council said the dog was not registered to them and there had been no previous reports about it.

Senior Sergeant Glenn Parker said the dead man’s daughter-in-law gave consent to destroy the animal, named Junior.

“The dog belongs to the occupant’s son, the dog’s been here for quite some time,” he told reporters at the scene.

“The owner of the dog has actually consented to that dog being put down,” Sgt Parker said.

“It’s an older dog, it’s quite familiar with all of the members of the family and my understanding is it’s out of character for the dog.”

A neighbour told The Ageshe would frequently chat with the father at the supermarket.

“He’s been a very lovely person. We will miss him a lot, especially my husband. We love him,” she said.

RSPCA Victoria’s Tegan McPherson said there were several causes of dog attacks, but breed wasn’t necessarily one of them.

“From what we’re hearing, this dog didn’t necessarily have a background of aggressive behaviour until this incident,” Ms McPherson told ABC Radio.

Triggers for dog attacks could range from environmental factors to pain and fear, she said.

“Without understanding the context of this particular incident, it could be fear related, it could be something else going on in the environment or it could be related to pathological changes in the dog’s brain or related to pain,” she said.

— with AAP