Animal activists have taken all but three dogs that were at the Msida residence of Andre Galea, the grandson of the 95-year-old woman mauled to death by two of his dogs. 

Activist Maxine Borg said it was Galea himself who asked for her help when he went to visit the animals on Wednesday after his release from hospital.

She said Galea handed over four cross-breed dogs, his Tibetan Mastiff, Ivy, four hamsters, two kittens, a rooster and two cages with birds. 

Three other dogs were "too aggressive" to be taken from the site, but there are plans to neuter them.

Ivy, the Tibetan Mistiff, sits patiently before being taken away for fostering. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

She said the four dogs were taken temporarily to Noah’s Ark animal sanctuary while Ivy is being fostered. 

Galea’s grandmother, Inez, 95, was mauled to death by two dogs described as pit bulls - Maxie and a female Ċika. The woman’s pet chihuahua was also killed in the attack.

She lived on the groundfloor of a two-storey residence in Antoinio Sciortino Street while he occupied the first and second floor and kept dogs in separate cubicles on the roof, partially covered with a green sunshade.

Times of Malta saw the dogs on the roof, in cubicles surrounded by animal excrement. 

In an interview with Times of Malta, 34-year-old Galea said his family had always warned her not to go up to his flat if he was not around. He said he still could not understand why she had entered his apartment that day when she had always been warned about the dogs. 

A rooster found inside Andre Galea's residence. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Although forming part of the same residence, the elderly woman and her grandson had separate entrances. The woman used what looked like an aluminum garage door while the grandson used the main entrance to the residence.

There is, however, a set of stairs at the back of the building which connects all three floors and it is believed that this is where the woman’s body was found. 

Neighbours said that the woman lived in the garage, which had a sitting area, a bedroom and small kitchenette where she spent most of her days in the company of her much-loved chihuahua. 

Inez Galea, 95, with her chihuahua dog, and her grandson, Andre, whose dogs attacked and killed her. Photo: Family/Facebook

Galea told Times of Malta that his grandmother had probably started walking up the stairs when the dogs saw her and attacked. She was probably holding her chihuahua in her arms at the time of the attack, he said. 

His version, however, contrasts with that of neighbours who say the elderly woman was in her own area of the property at the time of the attack.

A police spokesman said it was up to the ongoing magisterial inquiry to determine exactly where the woman was and how the two dogs reached her.