A woman mauled to death by her dog was terminally ill and had been attacked by the same pit bull mastiff cross in a separate incident just weeks before, Daily Mail can reveal.

Christine Kulis, 39, died when her dog launched its attack on Thursday after years of allegedly terrorising her neighbours in Whyalla, South Australia, 400km north-west of Adelaide.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene on Murphy Crescent in Whyalla Stuart around 4pm, but she could not be saved.

Her devastated mother Meredith Howe, of Port Augusta, confirmed her daughter had been killed in the attack.

She wept as she revealed to the Daily Mail how the dog had previously attacked Ms Kulis.

‘I told her she should have had that dog put down, but Christine didn’t want to,’ she said.

The dead woman’s close friend Alison Erskine told Daily Mail the dog had ripped the flesh off Ms Kulis’ arm during another savage attack in recent months and she was airlifted to hospital.

‘It bit through the tendons so they flew her to Adelaide and she stayed in hospital,’ Ms Erskine said.

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Chrissy Kulis died on Thursday after being mauled by her dog

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Ms Kulis and her fiance Arlan Potter owned several dogs

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A neighbour’s CCTV allegedly showed one of the animals aggressively prowling the street

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In one incident, the animal had to be restrained

‘When she came back (to Whyalla) she wasn’t the same person – she was so thin and withdrawn.

‘That dog is mental, it’s mad – I told her she should have it put down but they wouldn’t.’

She revealed Ms Kulis was an alcoholic who suffered cirrhosis of the liver, and doctors had warned her she would soon die if she didn’t stop drinking.

She said that Mr Potter would push her around town in a shopping trolley when she became unable to walk because of her condition.

It is understood that Ms Kulis was engaged to Mr Potter, and went by the name Chrissy Kay Potter on social media. They had been together for 10 years.

On Friday, a Whyalla city council spokesman confirmed the dog – which neighbours allege has killed several pets in the Murphy Crescent area – had been put down.

CCTV footage obtained by Daily Mail from a source on the street showed Ms Kulis and Mr Potter embroiled in a physical row with a neighbour after the animal allegedly attacked their cat.

In the video, Ms Kulis and Mr Potter can be heard warning the neighbour: ‘I’ll kill you’.

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Ms Kulis, from Port Augusta, lived with Mr Potter in Whyalla

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A neighbour shared CCTV of a recent alleged altercation over the dog attacking a local pet cat

In separate footage, a brown and white pit bull-bull mastiff cross allegedly owned by the couple was seen hurling itself at a neighbour’s fence before being restrained.

One neighbour claimed it had been seen near children ‘foaming at the mouth’ and was ‘covered in scars’.

 It is understood the dog was bred by the couple from another dog they owned.

‘The mother is sweet, but her son, this dog, was mad. I came out of the bathroom and it went for me once,’ said Ms Erskine, who has been friends with Ms Kulis for eight years.

‘I told them I didn’t want to be around it.’

She revealed she arrived at Ms Kulis and Mr Potter’s home on Thursday evening to visit them, and found him ‘covered in blood’ sitting outside talking to police.

‘He told me the dog attacked Chrissy. Police told me to move on so I shouted at Potter to tell Chrissy I would see her at the hospital,’ she said.

‘But then I found out that she had died.’

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Ms Kulis and Mr Potter had been together for around 10 years, said a friend

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Police blocked the road in Murphy Crescent after the attack

Other neighbours said they were not surprised the dog had turned on its owner and killed her.

One neighbour, who was friends with Ms Kulis, revealed she would not walk her dogs past the couple’s property for fear of an attack.

‘I told her she should get rid of him because of her health – that she should think about her own health instead of the animal’s,’ said the friend.

Many said the dog had been reported to Whyalla City Council on several occasions.

South Australia Police would not comment on any charges over the incident but said they were preparing a report for the coroner.

Media inquiries were referred to the council, which declined to comment because of the ‘active SAPOL investigation’.

Mr Potter could not be reached for comment, but Ms Erskine said he had contacted her on Friday about the cost of funeral expenses.