BJ’s owner, Jason Tepper, said the woman walking with the dogs responsible, believed to be mastiffs, could not control them when the incident occurred on Tuesday at Poplar Drive Reserve.

“One of the dogs just rushed us, spotted BJ and went after her,” he said.

“Then the other dog got away from the woman, broke away from the lead.”

 Mr Tepper, who was also with his toddler son Noah, had to park and leave the pram to retrieve BJ from where she was pinned in a corner of the reserve.

“When they’ve bitten her, they’ve broken two of her ribs and punctured her chest cavity,” he said.

Mr Tepper said the woman did not offer any assistance and the pair exchanged words.

He reported the incident to Albury Council and police.

“I’d hate for someone to be there with their child or little dog or both and this person come past with these dogs and it happens again,” he said. “I’m not the fun police… but if you’re going to have dogs off the lead, you need to be in command.”

Albury Council confirmed it was investigating and encouraged people to report any dog attacks as soon as possible. Where the attacking dog owner was unknown, information would be kept on record and patrols in the area would attempt to identify the person or dog.