"I would never underestimate a dog, they are bred to kill," said Graham Hartley, left, with grandson Tainui Hartley-Whareaorere who was mauled by his dog in 2015. Photo / File
"I would never underestimate a dog, they are bred to kill," said Graham Hartley, left, with grandson Tainui Hartley-Whareaorere who was mauled by his dog in 2015. Photo / File
New Zealand's injury rate from serious dog attacks has soared since the 1990s, and doctors who are treating the victims are calling for action.
A new study in today's NZ Medical Journal has found that 4958 people were admitted to NZ hospitals because of dog bites between 2004 and 2014, with preschool children suffering the highest injury rate.
The hospitalisation rate has jumped from 8.3 a year for every 100,000 people in the last study in the 1990s to an average of 11.3 a year over the latest 10-year period, and above 12 a year in both the latest two years in the study period.
Middlemore Hospital plastic surgeon Dr Zac Moaveni, who led the study, said he was regularly treating "really heartbreaking paediatric dog bite trauma".
A Bay of Plenty grandfather whose farm dog mauled his 6-year-old grandson in 2015, Graham Hartley, 79, said he was always wary of dogs now.
"I would never underestimate a dog, they are bred to kill," he said.
"I had a big crew - six working dogs, and game dogs. I had them all my life, and when I went to hospital I said to my young fellow: 'I don't want a dog on the place.'"
The new study comes after the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) paid out more than $4 million in 2016 alone in dog-bite related injuries. That same year, ACC processed 13,801 dog bite claims.
The study says the highest hospitalisation rates from dog bite injuries were for children aged under 5 (22.7 a year for every 100,000 children), children aged 5 to 9 (18.5), people in the poorest tenth of NZ communities (22.6) and Māori (21.3).
"Unfortunately they are the most vulnerable members of our society, so we really need better intervention to better protect those targeted individuals," Moaveni said.
He still remembers a 7-year-old Murupara girl, Sakurako Uehara, whom he had to operate on after she was mauled by four Staffordshire bull terrier-cross dogs in 2014.
Sakurako Uehara was aged 7 when she was mauled by four dogs at property of family friends in Murupara in 2014. Photo / OneNews
"That was the most harrowing paediatric trauma you can ever imagine," he said.
"There are some seriously harrowing cases that stay with you forever. The children can't speak for themselves. We have got to really be their voice and if we can't protect them, we are failing."
The study found that New Zealand's rate of hospitalisation with dog bite injuries was higher than other studies have found in the US, UK and Australia, although Moaveni said that might be because NZ statistics are better because of our ACC system.
It found that children were more likely to be bitten around the head and neck, whereas adults were more likely to be bitten on the upper limbs.
"This is very concerning, given that injuries to the head and neck are likely to be more serious and life-threatening than limb injuries," the authors said.
"To address this concerning issue, a comprehensive review of our national legislation of dog control is required, along with a review of what other dog bite prevention strategies might be effective," they said.
The Dog Control Act 1993 was amended in 2003 following a brutal attack on 7-year-old Carolina Anderson, who was mauled by a dog in an Auckland park. Four breeds were banned - American pitbull terrier, dogo Argentino, Brazilian fila and Japanese tosa.
Middlemore surgeon Dr Zac Moaveni says that if we don't protect our most vulnerable citizens, we are failing. Photo / Supplied
But Moaveni said banning particular breeds was not the answer because any kind of dog could become aggressive.
"The vets will tell you it has a lot to do with how the dog is treated, how it is handled, whether it is being abused, so any dog can potentially be a menacing dog," he said.
"We need to really educate our young people and parents just like we do about how to cross a road. We need to have that education at preschool or schools.
"And I think we need to have a lot more responsibility back on the owner. If you drive a car or have a firearm, we don't say the car or the weapon is the problem. It's the person that's the problem. It's the same with dogs."
All Breeds Dog Training Club secretary Angela Irving said she agreed that the answer was better education.
"Do enough people go to clubs and learn how to read their dogs and identify that there are potential problems and take the necessary precautions?" she asked.
