Killer pitbull on the loose

A blood-thirsty pitbull dog is roaming a Tauranga suburb - worrying residents in streets near where it was last seen after ripping apart a six-week-old foal.
The dog is on the loose in Welcome Bay and mauled the foal in an "horrific" attack on Monday night on Kaitemako Rd - the same road where 11 sheep were killed by a dog earlier this month.
A trap has now been placed on Kevin Ogle's property after he discovered the foal yesterday morning and tracked the tan pitbull to a nearby children's playground where it then vanished.
"I had been hand-raising this thoroughbred foal on behalf of Java Lodge in Matamata and when I went to do a midnight feed I saw she had been attacked.
"In the morning, I went back out there and the dog was back - he had been eating her during the night.
"It was an horrific attack."
Mr Ogle described the animal as being dark tan in colour, with a slight dark stripe up its back.
Because the blood-covered dog was full, it moved slowly and Mr Ogle was able to track it on foot from Kaitemako Rd to Osprey Drive and onto a walkway heading towards Meander Drive where it disappeared.
"The person who owns it must know that their dog has slaughtered something because it has blood all over it.
"If they've got small kids, crikey. This dog is vicious. It now has a taste for blood and it doesn't take much for it to swing from one thing to another," he said.
A Meander Drive mother, who did not wish to be named, has four children aged under six and was horrified to hear a killer dog was wandering loose in the neighbourhood. "There are dogs out there that aren't on leashes and I always try and cross the road to get round them if I have the kids.
"It's terrifying to think there is a dog out there that could kill something as big as a foal," she said.
Another resident in the the street also hoped the dog would be found and destroyed quickly.
"If it's got the taste for animals how long will it be before it turns on kids? It should be tracked down and shot."
Selwyn Ridge Primary School principal Merryn Muir said she had no previous knowledge of this worrying incident nor had she heard any reports of a wandering dog in the vicinity of her school.
But she would now be warning her students and teachers to be on the lookout.
The dog's last-known location was close to several reserves likely to be frequented by children - Osprey Park, Selwyn Park, Pelorous St and Waipuna Park.
Pitbull terriers have a reputation of being dangerous, having been involved in a number of attacks over the years.
Tauranga City Council animal services officer Kym Shorten said any dog that was permitted to roam could develop behavioural problems.
"Roaming strengthens and encourages instinctive behaviour and enhances natural canine characteristics.
"If you are approached by a dog, the best thing to do is stand still and stay calm," she said.