There has been a devastating deterioration in the condition of a woman mauled by her pet rottweilers on the weekend.
Nikita Piil, 31, was attacked by her dogs, Bronx and Harlem, at her Perth home on September 16 and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital where she underwent surgery to save her arm.
Her family has since revealed her body has been struggling to fight “canine bacterial infections” that have been “manifesting and creating ongoing serious complications”.
In an update on a GoFundMe page on Thursday, loved ones said the infections were likely caused by the dog’s teeth that weren’t brushed the morning of the attack.
“It has been a tough 12 days since the event that has changed Nikita’s life forever. She has since endured five emergency surgeries (13 hour duration), with countless more on the horizon as she continues to fight to keep her arm and life,” the update read.
“We nearly lost our precious girl a couple of times, but as you all know, Nikita is our little fighter.”
They expected her rehabilitation to be “painful, long and costly” and thanked people who had contributed to their fundraiser, which has raised more than $15,000.
It was still unclear what prompted the dogs to attack her.
Ms Piil has been a lover of rottweilers for many years.
She’s posted multiple photos and videos on her Facebook profile, including one of the dogs sitting next to dug-up artificial turf.
“My babies” Ms Piil captioned the photo alongside a black heart in 2020 on Facebook.
She lovingly captioned a photo of her dogs relaxed on the couch in June.
“My little kangaroo,” she wrote.
She even reshared content from the breeder where she bought her dog Harlem expressing love for the breed.
“Want them all. Always breeding the most beautiful babies,” Ms Piil captioned the video.
Ms Piil’s delight at bringing Bronx home as a puppy in September 2016 was palpable, with an adoring post showing him off to friends and family.
“Baby Bronx is finally home! So incredibly in love with this little sleepyhead. Life is complete. #Rottweilerpuppy #mummysboy,’ she captioned the photo.
A year later, Ms Piil paid tribute to Bronx on his first birthday.
“I couldn’t ask for a more incredible, cheeky, loyal, intelligent and protective little mate. You’re my whole world,” she wrote in 2017.
“Happy 1st Birthday to my baby, Bronx!”
Ms Piil’s obsession with her dogs led to tragedy when she was taken to hospital after she suffered serious injuries to her arms and leg following the mauling.
Her painful screams echoed through the street, alerting those nearby to the nightmare that was unfolding.
Despite neighbours attempting to stop the brutal attack, the dogs continued to maul the woman until police intervened.
Neighbour Bryn Spencer said was unable to save Ms Piil because he feared for his own life.
“I was contemplating jumping the fence and getting in there to rescue her but obviously there were two rottweilers in there … I would have been ripped apart,” he told the ABC.
“All I could really do was watch this girl get mauled apart while I was smacking the fence with a bat … while (another neighbour) was hosing the dog.”
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Officers were forced to shoot after tasers failed, seriously injuring one of the dogs.
The dogs were later seized by the City of Cockburn, with the injured dog euthanised due to his injuries.
– With NCA Newswire
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