Dog owners charged over attacks

Whirinaki Beach.

The owners of three dogs involved in an attack on two women at Whirinaki beach earlier this month have been charged under the Dog Control Act 1996.

Each of the three owners face two charges of 'dog attacks a person causing serious injury'.

Two of the dogs, a male bull terrier cross and a male Neapolitan mastiff cross, were relinquished by their owners in the wake of the attacks and were destroyed on Friday.

The remaining dog, a male, Rhodesian ridgeback cross, will be held at the pound pending the outcome of the prosecution, the Hastings District Council said in a statement this morning.

In the first attack, at 2.30pm on October 3, a woman was running on the beach when she saw three dogs. They approached her and attacked. She was pulled to the ground and suffered multiple puncture wounds and lacerations to her upper arm, her armpit and buttocks.

In the second incident, about 45 minutes later, a woman was attacked by what were believed to be the same three dogs while walking along a street. She suffered a significant bite injury to her arm.

Both women were admitted to Hawke's Bay Hospital, with the second woman being transferred to Wellington Hospital for specialist surgery.

All three dogs came from the same address. One lived at the address, two were visiting.
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