Dog victim loses battle

Des dies after boisterous boxer bowled him over

AN elderly man has died 2½ weeks after a playful dog knocked him over and broke his hip at an Arundel park.

Des Mason and his wife Audrey were on their way to their regular pub lunch on June 17 when the incident happened, leaving them to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary at the Allamanda Private Hospital the next day.

Now Audrey is coming to terms with a future without her best friend after Des died from pneumonia at the weekend.

The elderly couple had been walking to the Arundel Tavern about 1.30pm when they decided to take a shortcut through the nearby dog park.

On seeing a large boxer in the park Des asked the owner to keep her dog on a leash while they walked through.

The woman agreed but as Audrey and Des reached halfway the woman let go and the dog bounded toward Des, knocking him flat on his back. He underwent an emergency hip replacement and the next day celebrated his 55th year of marriage to Audrey.

Despite the pain Des was full of laughs, joking about the attention he was getting and sharing stories about the pair’s travels around the world.

Days later the 85-year-old took a turn for the worst and was placed in intensive care. On Saturday he lost his battle.

Julie Dimmick witnessed the incident and ran to Des’s aid before kickstarting a community fundraiser which raised $1900 for medical costs.

Audrey was yesterday too distressed to speak to the Bulletin but Ms Dimmick said she hoped Des knew that his wife would have the love of the community around her.