Police were called to a house on The Park Chase, in Valentine Gardens Estate, just after 3pm and found the girl with injuries below her right elbow.

She was rushed to John Hunter Hospital for emergency surgery on Saturday night, but the operation was unsuccessful and her hand was unable to be saved, police said.

Speaking through a hospital spokeswoman, the girl’s parents declined to give any information on her condition on Sunday.

Newcastle City police duty officer Inspector Gerard Lawson said the girl was on the street, playing in a cul-de-sac with other children, when she put her arm underneath a fence to pat one of the three Alaskan malamutes that lived there.

One of dogs then bit the girl, leaving her with severe injuries.

‘‘There were other children in the area playing, under supervision of an adult,’’ Inspector Lawson said.

‘‘An investigation has been launched by Lake Macquarie City Council rangers and they’re being assisted by Lake Macquarie detectives.

‘‘At no time has it been suggested the dog was out of its yard.’’

Neighbours said the girl did not live in the street but visited often to play with friends who did.

They said the girl and her little sister were on a play date with around six friends in the early afternoon when the kids went up a public path beside the house where the dog lived and the 8-year-old put her hand under the fence.

It’s believed the children saw what happened.

A neighbour heard screaming and helped to comfort the shaken children and the girl’s sister, who was in ‘‘a terrible state’’, until their parents were called.

On Sunday, no one was home at the house where the dogs lived and the backyard was empty.

There were wooden sleepers underneath the house’s rear Colorbond fence, but one had fallen over, leaving a space large enough to put a hand through.

It’s believed all three animals were taken away by council rangers.

A former neighbour posted on Facebook the dog was usually well-behaved with young children.

‘‘I have grown up playing with this dog who has bitten her hand and it has been fine with every other kid on the street,’’ Laura Garside said.

A crime scene was set up at the house after the attack on Saturday afternoon, but it was inactive on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for Lake Macquarie City Council said rangers were continuing their investigations into the incident on Sunday.

In a council statement released on Monday, a spokeswoman said the dog was with a welfare group "pending the outcome of an investigation."

"Two other dogs of the same breed, which were also on the property, have also been removed and are being cared for by relatives of the owner," the council statement said.

This article first appeared on The Herald's website.