Editorial: Bitter lesson in dog attack

Small children should never be left alone with dogs. Photo/Thinkstock

I wonder how the owners of the dogs that mauled a seven-year-old girl in Murupara now feel about their choice of pets.

Japanese girl Sakurako Uehara faces years of reconstructive surgery to repair extensive wounds to most of her body caused by the Staffordshire bull terrier-cross dogs that attacked her. She was bitten more than 100 times.

Sakurako had been visiting the dogs' owners, who were family friends.

Details of the injuries make your stomach turn. Doctors say the "crush" damage caused by the bites has complicated reconstructive surgery.

I can only imagine the terror and the pain the little girl experienced during the horrific ordeal.

The owners of the dogs euthanised them after the attack but no doubt they too will be forever haunted by the savagery of their pets.

In the wake of the Murupara attack, Local Government Minister Paula Bennett says she is considering whether dog control regulations need to improve.

The attack has also prompted calls to ban certain breeds of dogs. I initially agreed. However, while I believe some dogs are inherently more dangerous because of their ability to inflict damage, it is too late for such legislation to be effective because of cross breeding.

The best we can hope for is that people who insist on telling us their breed of dog is safe will reassess the risk-benefit of children sharing the same space as these animals.

Disturbingly, it usually falls to children to prove our faith in an animal's nature is misguided and that dogs of any breed can attack in certain circumstances.

If there is one thing we can take from this, it is that small children should never be left alone with dogs.