A young boy has died in hospital after being savagely mauled by a dog on the Gold Coast. Pictured is the dog believed to be responsible for the attack
A young boy has died in hospital after being savagely mauled by a dog on the Gold Coast. Pictured is the dog believed to be responsible for the attack
A young boy has died after being mauled by a dog during a horrific backyard attack on Christmas Eve.

The five-year-old was with his grandmother inside a home in Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast when the dog, reportedly an English bull terrier-American bulldog cross, attacked him about 11.45am.

He was rushed to hospital but died on the operating table, The Courier-Mail reported.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said the boy suffered life-threatening bites to his neck before going into cardiac arrest.

The boy was reportedly playing with the dog in the backyard of a home where his family were house-sitting at the time of the attack.

His grandmother was also treated by paramedics after she bravely tried to save the boy from the animal.

A spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the boy was treated at the scene by Queensland's best paramedics from the High Acuity team.

The critical care staff in this team use techniques and therapies tried and tested on war battlefields.

It's understood the boy received an emergency blood transfusion, while his grandmother was treated for shock and minor injuries.

Queensland Ambulance Service Medical Director, Professor Stephen Rashford previously said: 'The only good thing about wars is that they result in medical innovation.'

Often, the techniques make a world of difference to patients who are losing too much blood.

'HARU is a patient-centric initiative providing a seamless approach for people with the most severe traumatic injuries from the time of the injury to when they receive hospital care and beyond,' he previously said.

'These paramedics provide care at a level seen nowhere else in Australia, and this is supported by extensive training and very strong clinical oversight by senior trauma physicians.'

'Several therapies used by the HARU team were developed in conflict areas in Afghanistan and they have been shown to have great value for patients with traumatic injuries.'

Some of the techniques used by the High Acuity Response Team include administering general anaesthesia on the road and performing surgical procedures on the chest to relieve the buildup of blood or air pressure.