Not for the faint-hearted.


A man, who was found dead in a home in suburban Australia, had his right leg missing and the left one gnawed to the bone by his pet dog, a media report said today.


The 49-year-old man, who was not named, was last seen four weeks earlier and lived by himself in a suburb of Geelong, the Geelong Advertiser reported.


Police said officers had been called to a home on Sparks Rd, Norlane, on Tuesday for a welfare check after neighbours reported persistent barking from a dog inside it.


"Police looked through the door at the rear of the house and saw a male on the bed," Sergeant David Magher told the newspaper.


"His right leg was missing and the other gnawed to the bone. The dog inside the unit appeared to be extremely aggressive so council rangers were called in to restrain the dog."


The report said that the man's solitary death went unmissed and unmourned for up to a month but it was not clear whether the man was already dead when the dog starting eating his leg.


 "His dog, we presume his one true mate and companion, did what nature would intend him to do. Starving, he mauled his master's legs," the report said. Sergeant David Magher, who confirmed the police's gruesome find, said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.


The dog was restrained and Geelong council's health and local laws officer Steve Sodomaco said council officers and Geelong Animal Welfare Services staff would conduct an assessment to determine its future.


The council staff who went to the house were "understandably shaken by the incident and we are looking after their welfare", he added.